Eighty-three years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Consumers pay for oil market anarchy
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
News Phone: 764-0552
THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1974
Yet another 'last straw'
TSTIMONY BY technical experts that
the 18-minute gap in the crucial
April 21 Watergate tape could not have
been caused accidentally has raised little
outcry, not because the information is
unworthy of the public ire, but because
such outrages no longer come as sur-
prises.,
. In this case especially, the conclusions
of the experts were fully expected. The
Administration's yarn about the hyper-
human blunder of President Nixon's per-
sonal secretary, Rose Mary "Stretch"
Woods, was simply not credible.
White House Chief of Staff Alexander
Haig's mumbling "some sinister force" be-
ing behind the gap was even more in-
credible.
The Administration's inability to pro-
duce a logical explanation for the gap
in the tape, coupled with the disappear-
ance of other key Watergate tapes, should
convince all but the most guillible that
Someone, Somewhere, is lying.
THE REVELATION through notes of
former presidential advisor H. R.
Haldeman that the missing portion of the
tape dealt with Watergate is mere icing
on the cake.
The technical experts, testifying be-
fore federal Judge John Sirica, have put
to rest any notion that the erasure of the
tape could have been accidental. They
said the examination of the tape showed
the "record" button had been pushed not
Sports Staff
DAN BORUS
Sports Editor
FRANK LONO
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
BuuirNn Stff
RILL BLACKFORD
Business Manager
:AY CATALINOi ............... Operations Manager
SHERRY CASTLE ...... ........ Advertising Manager
:SANDY FIENBEROt................. Finance Manager
DAVE BURLESN....... ...........SBale Manager
DEPT. MORS.: Steve LeMire, Jane Dunning, Paula
Schwach
ASSOC. MGRS.: Joan Ades. Chantal Bancihon, Lind
Ross, Mark San:"ainte. S u a n n e Tiberlo, Kevin
Trimmer
ASST. MobS.: Marlene Kat, Bill Nealon
STAFF: Sue DeSmet, Laurie Gross, Debbie Novess,
Carol Petok Mimi Bar-on
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DAILY WEATHER BUREAU: William Marino and
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Photography Staff
THOMAS GOTLIEB
Chief Photographer
EN FINK....................Staff Photographer
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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 $CHILLER ............. Editorial Director
once, not twice, but at least five times.
They said it was possible that the
markings from which they determined
that several erasures had been made
might have been the result of someone
systematically listening, recording, eras-
ing, then moving on to the next section
of the tape.
Nixon's lawyers prevented the experts
from offering an opinion on whether the
tape erasure was "deliberate," but the
implication is clear. It must take years
of practice to learn to "accidentally"
press a tape recorder button five times.
THIS LATEST disclosure raises once
again question occurring with ever-
increasing frequency: How much longer
will it be before the American people do
something about the systematic decep-
tion - Nixon style - that has become a
part of their lives?
For months the Watergate investiga-
tion has run through lush and varied
fields of scandal. From the plumbers to
the tapes, from the milk deal to the ITT
affair, from Howard Hughes to Robert
Vesco - wherever the Watergate probe
has touched down, it has found corrup-
tion, ineptitude, and deception.
House Majority Leader Thomas O'Neill
of Massachusetts called the case of the
inexplicable tape gap "just one more
item on the avenue of impeachment." He
is right, and it is high time that the ave-
nue is followed to its logical destination.
There are only so many "items on the
avenue" that should be allowed, and the
track record of the Nixon Administration
gives no promise that the skullduggery of
his first five years in office has stopped
or even declined. The "now it's true, now
it's not" press releases emanating from
the White House reflect more and more
the desperate graspings of a doomed
man.
THE POINTS against Richard Nixon
have long since surpassed those need-
ed to bring the man to trial by Con-
gress. The testimony on the tape gap is
not a final decisive step on O'Neill's "aye-
nlue" - it is just one more of a series of
steps.
The American public should be spared
the anguish of watching the score roll up
any higher, and spared the disasters the
president can yet bring on the nation.
The avenue has been traveled far
enough. It is time to move the action
from Sirica's court to that of the House.
The tape gap testimony should be put in
its proper place - as one more point on a
list of reasons to indict.
By KEN RICHARDS
DURING THE PAST few weeks
there have been numerous ar-
ticles in the bourgeois press an-
nouncing an impending "fuel cri-
sis" recession. Both Britain and
Japan are in the throes of a sharp
economic crisis, while in the U.S.
both auto and airline workers have
been hit with large "indefinite"
layoffs.
These layoffs promise to be only
the first in what is quickly becom-
ing a recession of major propor-
tions. The Arab oil boycott, while
of major political importance, is
at best only a supplementary cause
of the present crisis.
As far back as Nixon's April
1973 "energy policy statement" it
was recognized that the U.S. fac-
ed a fuel shortage, entirely inde-
.pendent of the amount of Mideast
crude oil which could be imported.
This shortage is due to the fail-
ure of the oil companies to extract
the necessary amounts of natural
gas to meet increasing demand,
and continue investment in addi-
tional refinery capacity during the
economic slump of 1969-1970.
GIVEN THE PRICING structure
of the natural gas market (deter-
mined by the Federal Power Com-
mission) and the decline in fuel
consumption during the 1969-1970
slump, the oil companies found it
unprofitable to continue the capi-
tal expansion necessary to insure
the economy of adequate fuelnsup-
plies.
Using the Arab oil boycott as an
excuse, the capitalist class is forc-
ing the working class to pay the
costs of marketplace anarchy by
driving large numbers out of pro-
ductive labor, forcing the unem-
ployed to subsistoncharity or the
public dole.
Even without the help of Nixon
and widespread oil shortages, the
American economy was headed for
a bad year in 1974.
The rate of economic growth fell
from eight per cent in the first
quarter of 1973 to three per cent
in the third quarter.
Nixon oil policies, whether or not
justified by the extent of physical
shortages, make virtually certain a
serious decline in early 1974. Should
the economy turn down, an unlimit-
ed supply of oil would not in itself
overcome it.
THE OIL BOYCOTT tactic has
its origins in the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC), a producers' association
formed in response to the cut in
royalty payments which the major
oil companies forced on the pro-
ducing nations in the late 1950's.
In its early years the OPEC was
dominated by the oil companies.
During the 1970s however, the
OPEC has successfully used the
imperialist rivalry between t h e
European powers, the U.S. and
Japan to greatly enhance their po-
sition, gaining a steady rise in
both the price of crude oil and
their royalty share in it.
It is from this strengthened posi-
tion Saudi Arabia's King Faisal,
influential in the OPEC, attempt-
ed to use the oil boycott to force
a reversal of U.S. pro-Zionist fore-
ign policy in the Middle East.
While defending the oil-produc-
ing countries against any attempt
by American imperialism to smash
the boycott (as it did when the
Iranian oil fields were nationalized
in the early 1950s), revolutionary
socialists can place no political
confidence in the Arab nationalism
which has dominated the political
nature of the struggle against Zion-
ism.
IN THE NUMEROUS wars of the
past quarter century, neither tine
Zionist or the Arab nationalist re-
gimes have represented the inter-
ests of the workers or peasants of
their respective countries, much
less these of the displaced Pales-
tinians.
The total domination of Hebrew
and Arab nationalism in the Near
East has effectively suppressed re-
volutionary proletarian struggle in
the area.
Only a proletarian socialists re-
volution can produce a genuinly
democratic solution to the national
conflict in the Near East - a bi-
national Padestinian workers state,
with full guarantees of the right -f
both Hebrew and Arab peoples, as
part of a socialist federation of
the Near East.
While this is at all times our
fundamental program, we must
also oppose genocide or national
oppression on either side.
Thus it is obligatory for socialists
to uphold the right of both Pales-
tinian Arabs and the Hebrew speak-
ing population to self determination
- that is, to secede and form their
own states - no matter how dif-
ficult the resulting territorial di-
vision.
AS LONG AS the imperialist sys-
tem continues to exist, the working
class, whether in the Middle East
or in the U.S., will be subjected to
the pernicious effects of continual
crises and wars.
It is clear that the ruling class
will now seek to blame any layoffs,
further inflation, (in short, a n y
source of economic discontent) on
the oil boycott. It is important that
revolutionary Marxists try to pre-
vent the rampant economic dis-
content from being deflected from
the capitalist system and its de-
fenders and channeled into chauvin-
ist hostility towards "Arab aggres-
sion".
With the looming recession, the
focus of workers' struggles w i1ll
shift from speed-up and compul-
sory overtime to the question of un-
employment. Socialists must coun-
terpose to the layoffs a program
that links the fight against the
layoffs to the need to overthrow
the capitalist system of exploita-
tion itself. Instead of minimal re-
forms, a revolutionary program
would call for a sliding scale of
wages and hours, i.e. to divide the
available work among all work-
ers with no loss in pay and a full
cost of living escalator clause.
There must. be strikes agamnst
layoffs, rather than meek accep,-
ance of the capitalists' "right" to
throw millions of workers onto the
bread lines. To expose the sup-
posed poverty of the oil monopolies,
socialists demand that the coin-
pany books be opened for workers
inspection, to reveal the trutn
about the "energy crisis '
AND TO PUT an end to ruthless
exploitation by the privileged few
who run the country, such a pro-
gram would call for a workers'
party based on the unions to fight
for nationalization of industry un-
der workers control and a workers
government.
Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Room
4203 of the Union, Joseph Seym ur
will be speaking on the "World Oil
Tangle - a Marxist anaiysis of the
'energy crisis' ." Seymour, a Spa:-
tacist League Central Committee
member, is a graduate of tho Lon-
don School of Economics and form-
er professor at the New School,
of Social Research.
Ken Richards is a member of the
Revolutionary Communist Youth
and the Spartacist League.
i i
Letters to The Daily
high crimes
To The Daily:
THIS IS WHAT Richard Nixon
has done. These are facts which
can not be disputed.
On July 23, 1970, Richard Nixon
personally approved the Huston
plan for political surveillance, bur-
glary, wiretapping, eavesdropping
and spying of students by the CIA
and other agencies. <These methods
were employed against dissenters,
political opponents, news report-
ers, and government employees.
In 1971 Nixon established a per-
sonal secret police within the White
House (the plumbers) to engage in
"covert activities". They operat-
ed outside the restraints of the
law and engaged in burglary and
illegal wiretapping.
In 1973, President Nixon bombed
Cambodia, a neutral country, with-
out the authorization of Congress.
Later, we learned that he had been
bombing Cambodia for 3 years and
had deliberately concealed it from
Congress and from the American
people. This is a usurpation of the
war making powers of Congress.
When this was revealed, Nixon said
he would do the same thing again
under similar circumstances.
Richard Nixon has committed
"high crimes and misdemeanors".
He has violated the Constitution.
He violated the Bill of Rights by
approving the Huston plan design-
ed to suppress political opponents.
By establishing the "plumbers",
who engaged in covert activities,
he ignored the Bill of Rights. The
secret bombing of Cambodia, which
Nixon deliberately concealed from
Congress and the American peo-
ple by falsifying records, w a s
unconstitutional. Congress, which
has the power to declare war, did
not approve of and was not con-
sulted about this military action.
These impeachable offenses are
blatantly clear to myself and to
many others. Why does not Con-
gressman Esch act on these viola-
tions of the Constitution? He knows
these things as well as I. By
choosing to ignore these offenses,
he is failing to fulfill his Con-
stitutional duty. There is enough
evidence for an Impeachment by
the House. Impeachment is not
conviction, or throwing out of of-
fice, as many people think. It is
comparable to an indictment. If
Richard Nixon were an ? ordinary
citizen with this much evidence
against him, he would oe indict-
ed. The President is not, and
should not be placed above the
law. We must give him his day in
court (trial before the Senate).
Congressman Esch, will you per-
form your Constitutional d u t y
and impeach, or choose the politi-
cally expedient way out? If you
ignore these charges and refuse
to Impeach, the Constitution will
not be worth the paper it is print-
ed on. It would be terrifying to set
a precedent of unlimited Presiden-
tial power. We must not let Rich-
ard Nixon ignore and violate the
Constitution.
I urge the students of this Uni-
versity to write Congressman Esch
and tell him you support Impeach-
ment. Make it clear that he has
to choose between the Constitution
and Richard Nixon. If he abandons
the Constitution, we must s h o w
him that we will elect someone
who feels differently in 1974. Ap-
parently, Esch will ignore his duty
to uphold the Constitution as long
as it is politically acceptable to his
constituents. Do not let him do
this. He must uphold the Constitu-
tion and Impeach. We must show
him that if he refuses to dosoy,
we will oppose him in the 1974
election.
-Tom Moran
'77 Natural Resources
Nov. 27
ER A bracelet
To The Daily:
THE LEAGUE of Women Voters
of Ann Arbor has launched an
Equal Rights Amendment Bracelet
campaign. The bracelet sale is
part of a nationwide League cam-
paign to raise money for next
year's all-out effort to obtain rati-
fication of the Equal Rights
Amendment.
The bracelet is a band of silver
with the letters "E.R.A.' pierced
into it. It is purposely neutral in
design so that it can be worn by
both men and women. It costs
$3.00 and can be purchased from
the League office at 333 S. Fourth
Ave. (tel. 761-0978).
-Anne Ballew
Jan. It
Ius
0
nI
c:- nI AR
Ki
TODAY'S STAFF:
Neys: Dan Biddle, Della di Pietro, Mike
Duweck, Jack Krost, Sara Rimer, Gene
Robinson, Ted Stein
Editorial Page: Marnie Heyn, Cindy Hill,
Eric Schoch
By BOB SCHETTER The senior Brubeck, in writing his Ark appearances and in
Come tomorrow evening, the New his piece called Truth, had envis- other cities. So, Sky King's
Heavenly Blue will cease to exist. ioned his son's performing t h e ity has been limited, but th
The reason? Sky King. work. This last concert was ar- deserves to make it.
No, the old TV personality has ranged as a personal favor to the The original New Heaven
not been resurrected to bother us Brubeck family - a very tall or- consisted of Brubeck, Chris
with his banality. Instead, tomor- der, as the group officially disband- Dave Mason, Madcat (who
row will mark the last concert ap- ed last spring due to "musical di- to divulge his real name
pearance of New Heavenly Blue, rection" conflicts. Peter Bonesteel. All are e
an Ann Arbor rock band which has A new group, however, with a ly talented musicians both
gained at least some notoriety somewhat different musical direc- realm of performance and
around the country. tion has been slowly coalescing sition.
This concert is no ordinary one, since the breakup. And when Chris The result of their effort
however. For the band will per- gets off the road with his Dad, the sound which mixed all ge
form with the Detroit Symphony new group, Sky King, can get into music and included instrum
Orchestra and jazz pianist Dave full swing. Maybe. diverse as trombone, cel'
Brubeck whose son Chris was a Members continually enter and monica, and finally, with t
founder of New Heavenly B 1 u e. leave at whim for personal under- tion of Steve Dudash and Ji
By no means has Chris depended takings. Chris Brown, for instance, cart, fiddle and keyboards.
on his father's name to make it; has recently toured with singer Evidently, this eclectic a
both he and the other band mem- Maria Muldaur, while "Madcat," didn't suit Chris Brown, so
bers have molded a sound quite the group's harmonica player, has to play what become a m
personal and distinct. played with David Bromberg at ky style. Eventually he tea
Generation,'iterary journa
*offers fine poetry and prose
several
s stabil-
he group
nly Blue
Brown,
refuses
), an d
extreme-
in the
compo- .
s was a
enres of
rents as
lo, har-
he addi-
m Cath-
pproach
he left
ore fuim-
amed up
takes
with guitarist Rick Jaconi to start
Sky King.
When last summer rolled around,
members of the disbanded N e w
Heavenly Blue were looking for
work. Some began playing with
Rick and Chris and eventually, with
the exception of Dudash and Cath-
cart, all were involved wit'h the
new group in some way. The prob-
lem was, and still is, that the
group's membership changed too
often for any kind of stabili°y.
So who belongs to Sky King and
what is the band doing? The cur-
rent members, all former Univer-
sity students, include drubeck,
Brown, Madcat and Mason - all
from New Heavenly Blue - plus
singer Chris Coan, drummer Richie
Morales and guitarist Rick Jacobi.
Sky King has made two demo
tapes, each with a different set
of members, but consistent ii style.
These tapes were submitted to
Steve Cropper, a top Nashville pro-
ducer, who has volunteered to back
them with the recording companies.
The group plans to go to Mem-
phis this spring to start work on an
album and a Top-40 single, both to
of
be released late next fall, barring
any setbacks.
In the meantime, some of Sky
King - minus Brubeck, Brown and
Madcat - are. looking for bar jobs
in the Ann Arbor area. They ex-
pect to get into full swing s o o n
after the Truth concert.
Sky Kingdeserves a break. Their
music, described by members as
"funky," reflects the influences of
Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, and
even the Beatles. Sound different?
It is. Sky King's sound is tight
and clean. Improvisations are car-
ried out within the structure of the
particular piece. Considering tht
proficiency of the musicians,, it's
no surprise that they produce some
very fine and original music.
Granted, one can hear the in-
fluence of the other "great" ar-
tists much too clearly and lyrics
often miss their mark, but Sky King
has an excellent feel for music
-an indication of great promise.
Will Sky King regain the ad-
miration of its viewers? T u n e
in next week .
Arts Page: Diane Levick
Photo Technician: Tom Gottlieb
:)THAT I WERE AS GREAT AS MY (GRIEF OR LESSER IAN4MY( NAME !
DR THAT 1. COULD FORGE'T WHATr I HAVE BEEN !
)R NOTREMEMWEI W14AT Z MUSIT BE NOW1
kWN& RICAW~D JII. eMtZ SCE 4e IL
f
By JIM SCHIOP
"Various voices and concerns
meet in this magazine, making it a
sort of common-place," writes John
Paval, editor of Generation.
So when I laid down my dollar
for the journal last week, I antici-
pated reading what young Ann Ar-
bor thinks and feels.
Generation grows from a small
group of writers situated in the
Residential College. Its return af-
ter a "veritable absence" (to quote
the editor) will hopefully stimulate
minds dreary of the dirty Ann Ar-
bor snow or perhaps will even spur
on students preparing for a new se-
mester.
For those accustomed to reading
creative magazines of this sort,
such an Anon (a comparable En-
glish Dept. publication) or river-
run (a new Detroit-based journal)
know the format of Generation:
poetry and short prose pieces
written by young, talented student
writers, the occasional interpola-
tions of freelancers, and a smatter-
ing of photos. Emily Woodward's
nine photographs dot the journal.
Generation includes a selection
of writers who experiment in lan-
guage, such as Fred Nelson Jr.
whose poem "Ballad of Sweet
Dappy Dan the Ladies Man" jour-
nevs into the black man's English.
have a wire out on me?
BOISE: I mean there's a ru-
mor out that the killers want to
make a "sweet bot" outa you
man.
Bill Leavitt's poem "Breakfast
at Armageddon's" plays with the
language of street gangs, hustlers,
and the ghetto, and too many capi-
tals:
I says-ARTY FLUSH DA
GODDAM
TOILET A HUNNERD TIMES
WILL YA
I DID MEAN TA SAY NUTHIN
WHAT UPSET YA BUT DON
TELL ME .
YA DON WANNA GO TA DA
BOWLIN
ALLEY AN YA TIRED A
GOIN INNA
BAR. AN YA DON WANNA
HUSTLE
BROADS. DAT AINT MY
ARTY
Prose selections include a good
short story by Howard Rontal de-
veloped in a smooth style concern-
ing the isolation of a Jewish barber
and former concentration camp
survivor. Tobi Tobias writes about
teaching God to a child, and ex-
sailor Dennis G. Burke offers an
essay about Japanese mythology.
These local creative journals are
notorious for their usually weaker
poetry than prose. Generation is an
House-high in spots. The white
wind blew so hard
Our footprints didn't last un-
til we'd left them.
A fine present that weather
seemed to make!
Snow-hobbled, snow-blind, cold,
faces wind-raw,
We broke off hunting them
near five to hunt
Some place warm, roofed, and
walled against the storm.
Also, Linda Breiner's "The
Farewell (Spain c. 1350)" cap-
tures the color and elegance of old
romantic Moorish Iberia:
Always I wear your kiss, tear-
ing it off,
tearing out the heart-I fling
it down
the crisp cliff of the temple,
then Andalusia's waters seeth
up
to eat it, spawning her acidic
orange.
But the cancer persist like a
medallion,
I rip it from my chest, it buds
anew; the hollowness of a seal-
ed beauty,
guarded and perennial.
Removed from me, buried
in distant hills, eternal Cordo-
ba-
city of the heart and tear, Cor-
doba.
d a r
ANEW,