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Government without the press?

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Eighty-two years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan

420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.

News Phone: 764-0552


FRI DAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1973


Dangerous DES

By ARNOLD B. SAWISLAK
AFTER THE Cuban missile crisis of 1962,
Arthur Sylvester, Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Public Affairs, was quoted as
saying "It is in the government's right,
if necessary, to lie to save itself when it's
going up to nuclear war." Sylvester's state-
ment he explained is to mean the govern-
ment had the right to lie to deceive an
enemy even if it also deceived its own
citizens caused a small stir of protest at the
time. But for the most part the reality, if
not the morality, of the statement was un-
challenged.
The fact is that the government has been
keeping secrets and telling lies about its
activities from the first days of the re-
public. There are some in the press and
politics who believe that all government
business should be conducted in public, but
most concede the need for secrecy in some
cases - troop movements in wartime, and
discussions during delicate diplomatic talks,
are examples.
However, the American press generally
insists that it be the judge of what to
publish. The idea that government, as in
Great Britain, has absolute authority to
suppress information is anathema to a press
described by Zechariah Chafee as "sort of
a wild animal in our midst-restless, gigan-
tic, always seeking new ways to use its
strength."

THIS NATURALLY puts, the press into
conflict with government, including at times
the "out' party. This was the case with
Vietnam, when the Republicans generally
supported the Democratic administrations'
conduct of the war. Thus the media, in
printing and broadcasting reports and an-
alyses contrary to the official view of
events in Indochina, found itself being
lumped with antiwar protesters as "giving
aid and comfort" to the enemy.
This position is not new - President
Franklin D. Roosevelt once proposed to
award a Nazi Iron Cross to the Washing-
ton correspondent of an unfriendly news-
paper - but such talk by men in power
has been blamed for "chilling" the 1st
Amendment's guarantees, especially in the
case of broadcasters who are subject to
government licensing.
Also not new is the inability of politic-
ians to accept the dissident role of the
press. Thomas Jefferson is fondly quoted
by journalists as saying he would prefer
newspapers without government over gov-
ernment without newspapers. But he also
said, after serving as president, "The man
who never looks into a newspaper is better
informed than he who reads them."
The saying that "everything good is ei-
ther illegal, immoral or fattening" might
be expanded in Washington to include "se-
cret." The government has vastly expanded

its facilities in recent years to make in-
formation about its activities public, but
it also has escalated concealment. E v e n
those responsible for keeping official in-
formation from the public believe the situa-
tion is out of hand.
President Nixon, in ordering an overhaul
of the federal classification practices for
protecting documents relating to national
security, said that the system "has failed to
meet the standards of an open and demo-
cratic society." Too often, he said, docu-
ments have been stamped secret merely "to
conceal bureaucratic mistakes or to pre-
vent embarrassment to officials and ad-
ministrations." The physical dimensions of
government secrecy - whether for reasons
of foreign policy, national security or more
obscure objectives - are staggering. A
congressional expert, William G. Phillips,
estimated that the Defense Department
alone has enough classified material to
make 18 stacks each as high as the Wash-
ington Monument. And Dr. James '. Rhod-
es, the archivist of the United States, testi-
fied that he is responsible for 470 million
pages of classified documents, including
172 million pages dating back to World
War II. Until Nixon ordered a reduction
last year, there were 55,000 government
employees in 38 departments and agencies
authorized to classify documents. And the
General Accounting Office estimated the

government's cost to maintain security for
classified material at $126.3 million a year.
APART FROM the physical and econom-
ic problems of managing official secrecy,
there also are questions raised by the sys-
tem itself. For example, officials who im-
pose secrecy also have the authority to lift
it, and it is from government sources that
most. "leaks" to the press originate. One
writer observed that the U.S. government
is "the world's only sieve that leaks from
the top," and Jack Anderson, testifying be-
fore Congress, asked why Ellsberg was to
be prosecuted for handing out the Pentagon
Papers when former President Johnson
could use the same kind of information in
his memoirs without breaking the law.
All of which returns the circle to the
sheep and the wolfe. The government doubt-
less will continue to try to conceal its ac-
tivities, in some cases for valid reason.
And the press, despite government's growing
reaction to its disclosures, probably will
continue to dig and probe for information.
The shepherd in this drama is the public.
It alone can decide which is the sheep and
which is the wolf, and by its power to
reward or punish with the vote and the dol-
lar define for both the meaning of liberty.
Arnold Sawislak is a writer for the United
Press International.

ON WEDNESDAY the Food and Drug
Administration irresponsibly ap-
proved the use of diethylstilbestrol (DES)
as a "morning after" pill, while at the
same time advising women to get abor-
tions if they can before resorting to its
use.
The drug is suspected of causing can-
cer in the female infants born to wo-
men who have taken it.
Experiments are still being conducted
to determine how large a dose can be
tolerated, and what effects it may have,
especially in cases where there is a fam-
ily history of cancer. But in the mean-
time the drug will be administered to
women in "emergency" cases.
Last year the FDA found DES harm-
ful to cattle and banned it from their
feed. This year they apparently think
that it won't be quite as dangerous to
women.
The past condonance and use of ex-
perimental drugs has often led to disas-
ter resulting from inadequate and in-
complete, preliminary testing. And there
is no conclusive evidence that DES is
safe.
Unfortunately, the FDA went ahead
and authorized restricted use of the
drug, which presents the problem of how
to responsibly administer it.
Although DES was given approval for
emergency situations only, such as rape
or incest, the possibility of the drug be-
ing misused based on varying individual
definitions of "emergency" still exist. Ev-
en when the drug was more severely re-
stricted to "experiment 1" status, there
were reports of it being administered
without the recipients full understanding

of its nature or possible harmful side ef-
fects.
A CCORDING TO a report released by
Ralph Nader's Health Research
group last December - based on studies
by the local Advocates for Medical Infor-
mation (AMI) - three-fourths of the
69 women responding to the AMI survey
were not given follow-ups after taking
the pill at the University's Health Cen-
ter. Only seven of the women were told
that the drug was experimental, and
only three had their family histories
checked.
In addition, FDA Commissioner
Charles Edwards stated that "a definite
danger" exists .to fetuses that DES reci-
pients may already unknowingly be car-
rying. DES will not abort a fetus after
four weeks. Despite that fact, only four
survey respondents were given pregnancy
tests before receiving the drug.
The evidence is strong that DES was
not used properly at the University
Health Service. Yesterday's decision by
the FDA does not provide much satis-
faction that it will be used more respon-
sibly across the country.
But the basic question is not how the
drug should be administered, but whether
it should be administered at all. Consid-
ering adverse effects the drug has had
in the past, research evidence regarding
DES is inconclusive at best. We feel that
the decision to relax restrictions on DES
was certainly premature, and the FDA
should reconsider its decision.
Women who are victims of rape or in-
cest should not have the added worry
of the danger of cancer to themselves
or their daughters from the use of an
experimental drug.

4

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Editors Note:
This article is the first in a five-
part series written by the Interna-
tional Center Staff and designed to
inform students about the ins and
outs of traveling overseas. Watch
Friday's Editorial Page forthe travel
se~ries and check out tihe information
in the International Center's Work/
Study/Travel Abroad Office, Room
23, 603 E. Madison, and the UAC Of-
fice on tie second floor of the Mich-
igan Union.
The sponsors of this article are par-
ticularly interested in student reac-
tions and experiences. If you have a
favorite guidebook, travel anecdotes
to share or questions to ask, call
764-9310. If you're a seasoned traveler,
your experiences and comments will
help the International Center staff
organize the best possible student
travel service.
By JANE ANDERSON
and KATHY FALLAN
11HIS SUMMER over 600,000
young Americans will experi-
ence the highs and hassles of tra-
velling in a foreign country. For
most the experience will be un-
forgettable, especially if they know
beforehand exactly what they're
getting into.
If you're a free spirit with a thin
wallet and a tight schedule, com-
prehensive and creative planning
can be half the fun of traveling
and good insurance for a personal-
ized and problem-free trip.
Reading the right guidebooks be-
fore you travel means more than
knowing where to find cheap beds
and meals. It can give you social
savvy, a knack for planning unus-
ual ways to get around, a backlog
of references and resources to con-
tact in case of crises, and an alter-
native to ending up in places with
countless other American tourists
who have $5 a Day tucked under
their arms.
If Europe on $5 a Day and Let's

egoing abroad...

Go: Europe are the only guide-
books you're familiar with, come
to the International Center's Work/
Study Travel Abroad Office and
browse through a comprehensive
review of guidebooks.
The Center has critiqued fifteen
guidebooks with the young, bud-
get-conscious, adventuresome tra-
veler in mind. Most guidebooks are
specialized, and address them-
selves to different types of trav-
elers. The International Center's
review is designed to acquaint you
with each guidebook's forte and to
help you get information most rel-
evant to your tripeasily and effic-
iently.
All guidebooks reviewed can be
read at the center, or purchased
at the University Cellar and other
local bookstores.
If Asia is your destination, dope
your thing, and hitching and ming-
ling with nationals your style, get
ahold of Overland to India by
Douglas Brown, Student Guide to
Asia by David Jenkins and Asia
for the Hitchhiker by Mik Schultz.
If you don't want to miss the exotic
and mysterious sights and events,
read Golden Guide to South and
East Asia for its cultural and his-
toric commentaries, rather than its
listings of plush hotels and expen-
sive, antisceptic restaurants.
The Whole World Handbooks by
Marjorie Cohen and Margaret
Shermon is one of the best run-
downs on details and regulations
around. Read and digested States-
side, it should help you avoid most
of the common traveling hang-ups
and many of the uncommon ones.
Europe under 25 by Eugen Fo-
dor and J. Marks, a new addition
to the famous Fodor travel series,
is a goldmine for travelers more

interested in people than galleries
and monuments. A comprehensive
description of pubs, discos, bars,
night clubs and corner hangouts
across the continent, is interwoven
with common sense advice on in-
teracting with people in each coun-
try.
If you're planning a sojourn in
Latin America,, don't overlook
Travel Guide to South America by
Myra Waldo just because the
means of transportation outlined
may be too rich and soft for your
blood. The extensive coverage of
history and culture should make
worthwhile and intriguing reading
anyway.
Is camping through Europe at
the back of your mind? Camping
Guide to Europe by Paul Lipp-
mann should help you make some
intelligent decisions concerning
the best equipment to invest in
and the most beautiful and acces-
sible campsites to relax in. Read-
ing Camping Guide in tandem with
other youth guides to Europe may
help you avoid some of the isola-
tion built into the camping style
of travel.
IF WORKING or studying is your
goal, some guidebooks such as
Whole World Handbook or Eu-
rope Under 25 include information
on academic programs and work
experience. For further informa-
tion, check out the pamphlets,
booklets, and first-hand accounts
collected in the Work/Study/Travel
Abroad Library.
Jane Anderson and Kathy Fallan
are University students who are re-
searching travel situations in for-
eign countries.

Penal reform action

I

A GROUP of six bills dealing with pri-
son reform was introduced in the
state House of Representatives last Tues-
day, recommending long overdue reform
in all areas of prison management.
It has been apparent for some time
that such legislation is sorely needed.
The old concept of imprisonment as sole-
ly a means of punishment and deter-
rence has proven itself ineffective. In-
stead of "teaching prisoners a lesson"
and setting an example for others to
heed, our modern dungeon-like prisons
have been more effective as academies
for the advancement of criminal exper-
tise.
Specific points in the proposed legis-
lation include provisions allowing pri-
soners to vote through absentee ballots,
to have sex with visiting spouses and to
join and form unions. Another provision
calls for the formation of grievance pan-
els in every state penal institution to re-
place the present system of a single
grievance ombudsman for the whole
state.
The voting and union provisions
could help to improve the atmosphere of
resentment and alienation that is found
in our prisons. And the visitation policy

could be an important step in the reduc-
tion of incidents of sexual assault among
inmates.
All told the package of bills would be
instrumental in constructing a humane
society.
4 LTHOUGH THE necessity for such leg-
islation is apparent, it is in for some
rough sailing. When asked about the
chances of the bill even leaving the com-
mittee, an aid to Rep. Jackie Vaughn
(D.-Det.) - who proposed the bills-
indicated that there has already been
violent protest from some legislators.
It is not surprising that many of the
people opposed to Vaughn's bills support
the probosal to reinstate capital punish-
ment in Michigan.
It is bad enough when our legislature
drags its heels when penal reform is
badly needed, but to re-establish the
death penalty amounts to executing an
about face and marching in precisely
the wrong direction.
By now we had hope it be clear to the
State's law-makers that what is needed
is not a regression to the "good old days"
of bread, water and the noose, but rather
progressive legislation for reform of our
penal system.

Daily Photo by STUA RT HOLLANDER
Reading the right guidebooks before you travel
means more than knowing where to find cheap
beds and meals.

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betters to The Daily

Sylvia s Signs


A tl
POLL CON I

.. .

New policy
To The Daily:
I AM WRITING this letter in re-
gard to your despicable new pol-
icy of unsigned editorials. I feel
that this shameful cowardice de-
stroys the last vestiges of my re-
spect for the editorial opinion of
your paper.
I believe that your new policy re-
flects the untrue and popular as-
sumption of moral responsibility
residing in the divine institutional
"we". The institutional "we" which
you hide behind has no name and
no face. "We" take moral respon-
sibility. Individuals take moral re-
:sponsibility. If someone has a
grievance against me he doesn't
look for every individual of my
description to chastize. He addres-
ses me by name and holds me re-
sponsible for my views.
Yourpaper's constant prattle
about liberties abused and individ-
uals repressed is hypocrisy in the
face of your own policies. Why
shouldn't the regents hold closed
meetings and issue edicts; this is
now the Daily's policy. I for one
feel that if this letter is published
it will be read by but a few who
agree with me since most have
switched to another source of news.
Something on the order of the De-
troit News, they are no more bias-
ed than The Daily and at least
their hypocrisy has always been
with us.

any consideration was given to the
large amount of electricity such
cooling machinery consumes.
Wouldn't it be preferable to wear
light clothing - and sweat a lot
- rather than contribute to two
of our society's more difficult prob-
lems: the energy crisis and air
pollution produced when generat-
ing electricity?
--Mark Rossow
Feb. 11
Grievance
To The Daily:
IN SPITE of the fact that var-
ious University of Michigan of-
ficials have been proclaiming the
University's program in affirmna-
tive action for women and minori-
ties, it is noteworthy that repre-
sentatives of HEW have just visit-
ed to once again investigate. This
time their concern is the inadequa-
cies of the grievance procedure -
the only means inside the Univer-
sity for redress of hiring and job
inequality.
It is no wonder that people have
complained to HEW. The present
grievance procedure and the per-
sons who implement it seem al-
most guaranteed to discourage em-
ployees from seeking justice. The
aggrieved employee must f i r s t
confront her/his direct suoerv'sor
with the complaint of discrimina-
tion - not exactly a pleasant task.

also at no point in the grievan2e
procedure does the employee have
formalized influence on what ei-
dence the Review Committee uses
to make its decision. The grievant
cannot force the Committee to con-
sult relevant witnesses and cannot
cross-examine any sources which
the Committee decides secretly to
consult.
The final decision is made en-
tirely by the head o>f the college
and a Personnel official - both re-
presentatives of the empl,-yer'.s
interest. A representative of the
Women's Commission is "allowed"
to attend meetings but has no vote.
As a woman who is currently
charging the University with dis-
crimination and seeking justice
through this procedure, I know
whereof I speak.
-J,.an Ben Dor
Feb. 12
Communes
To The Daily:
I AM ASKING your cooperation
in publishing this letter so that I
may reach the general student
population.
I am attempting to accumulate
some meaningful data for a serious
study on American communes. To
that end, I wish to reach as many
communes as possible by mail and
in some cases for personal inter-
views, if agreeable.
I will be grateful if students,
graduate and undergraduate, who

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23; 1973
A Pisces person will over indulge in
wishful thinking.
Pisces. (Feb. 19 - March 20) Today is
your day to dominate. Make all the arrange-
ments for that heavy date tonight. It is
time to get tough and rise to the top. Name
your perversion.
Aries. (March 21 - April 19) You tend to
rub others the wrong way. Be overly con-
siderate of those around you. Give a rose
friends and brighten up the day.


to each of your close


f'}7L L

DETERN

Taurus. (April 20 - May 20) The day seems pretty average, not
too black or too white. Add color by seeking new diversions.
A light show with the proper atmosphere could result in intimacy.
Gemini. (May 21 - June 20) Initiate action for satisfying results.
Stage a demonstration on the steps of the graduate library.
Involve others in a libertarian iovement.
Can'cer. (June 21 - July 22) You definitely need help from
others. Don't be afraid to accept propositions that promise re-
ward. The experience of others can be an excellent teacher.
Leo. (July 23 - Aug. 22) People tend to be deceiving you. Avoid
crowds which produce irritating behavior. Study alone tonight
in a corner in the law library.
Virgo. (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22) School work bogs you down, a love
walks out of your life and all seems dark. But never fear, to-
morrow your stars will be much brighter.
Libra. (Sept. 23 - Ooct. 22) Planetary influences stimulate you into
high energy action. Don't be too rambunctious. Let your mind lead
you to another dimension.

n
4
Y, }.

Scorpio. (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21) Attend all your
will miss more than just work. Find the
-- ZTT'..

classes today. You
"Star" and other
se.'n v innwt

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