~t~ Si tan Daittjkd
Eighty-one years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.
News Phone: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1972
Politicizing the pot law
>' I
" .°
-r
Tsr
"I THINK this attack is unauthorized!"'
IN VOIDING the sentencing section of
the city's progressive marijuana or-
dinance yesterday, District Court Judge
S.J. Elden has committed a politically-
motivated act that is made all the worse
by his self-voiced judicious intentions.
In his opinion, delivered during a rou-
tine sentencing under the law passed by
City Council last May, Elden knocked out
both the $5 fine provision of the ordi-
nance and a newer section passed Sept.
18 which forbids the placing on probation
of any person convicted of violation of
the local law.,
Elden chided City Council members for
intrusion into the judicial functions of
the Fifteenth District Court and for at-
tempting to take away from the court the
discretion to impose a sentence.
The fact that Elden, who along with
his colleague, Judge Pieter Thomassen,
has been privately critical of the law ever
since it went into effect, coupled with the
fact that Elden is seeking election to the
Circuit Court this November, makes his
ruling smack of personal prejudice and
politics rather than the high judicial con-
cerns to which he pretends.
HIDING BEHIND the honorable motives
that the court acted entirely out of
judicial concerns and was not questioning
the policy of the law itself, it is Elden
himself, and not City Council, who, de-
serves the chiding.
For in striking down the new law, Elden'
has made a mockery of the legitimacy of
the duly-elected and representative body
which voted after lengthy deliberation to
approve it.
The question of whether or not the city
ordinance is, in fact, technically uncon-
stitutional, may indeed be a hazy matter.
But we agree with the many judges and
lawyers who do not embrace a strict con-
structionist attitude toward the consti-
tution, as long as the essence of the law
in question is within bounds.f
Something is in essence unconstitu-
tional if it goes against the grain of in-
tent and purpose of our Founding
Father's document. However, a law may
be in technical violation if it appears to
overstep its properly designated realm of
authority. Thus, a city ordinance may be
declared technically unconstitutional if it
differs from the law of the judicial
authority above it (in this case the state
of Michigan), even though the state could
adopt the city's law tomorrow and stand
in perfect straits with the law of the
land.
CERTAINLY, the law is the law, but
come on, Judge Elden. Since the law
was adopted last May there has been no
move by the state to take action against
it. The representative body of Ann Arbor
has passed an ordinance which in its
essence does not disturb a single tenet
of the Constitution. Moreover, it is ironic
that the people of Ann Arbor are ap-
parently being chided for taking progres-
sive action on a matter which past events
have shown has until recently been
treated in a totally mistaken fashion. It
seems quite clear that it is only a matter
of time before virtually all states will
adopt ordinances similar to the one struck
down in Ann Arbor. It is at least for-
tunate that Elden's action will only serve
to slow down-and not halt-the process
of eventual decriminalization and legali-
zation of marijuana on a nationwide
basis.
Hopefully, City attorney Jerold Lax will
appeal the ruling. Concerned residents of
Ann Arbor can only urge that in the
future the legislation of their represen-
tatives is upheld, and keep this incident
in mind when Elden comes up for election
Nov. 7.
-ROBERT SCHREINER
Editorial Director
'No comment' news
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army announced yesterday that after
66 years it was clearing the records. of 167 black soldiers who were dis-
honorably discharged for a frontier shooting incident in Brownsville,
Texas.
The Army said the disciplinary action was the only documented
case of mass punishment in its history.
Declaring the action a gross injustice, Secretary of the Army
Robert Froehlke ordered the discharges changed to honorable for the
167 members of the First Battalion, 25th Infantry, an all-black unit.
President Theodore Roosevelt ordered the men punished in 1906
for what he called their "conspiracy' of silence" in refusing to testify
against their fellow soldiers during the investigaton of the shooting that
history has come to record as the "Brownsville affray."
According to the history books, at about midnight, Aug. 13, 1906,
some 16 to 20 armed men rode on horseback through the streets of
Brownsville, firing wildly into the homes of whites. One resident was
killed and several others injured.
The shooting followed a fight between a black soldier of the First
Battalion and a white merchant, which resulted in the town's being plac-
ed off-limits for the battalion, which was, quartered in nearby Fort
Brown.
The soldiers were dishonorably discharged en masse some three
months later, although a series of military enquiries and a county
grand jury failed to establish the identity of any of the men involved,
No soldier would give evidence against his comrades.
Army officials said yesterday no attempt would be made to de-
termine if any of the men were still alive and notedsthat the action
ruled out any back, pay and allowances for their descendants.
"The secretary felt the record should be cleared and did so," a
Pentagon spokesman said.
CHICAGO - Edward Barrett, who is Cook County Clerk and has
been a power in Illinois Democratic politics for more than 40 years, was
indicted yesterday by a Federal grand jury on charges of income tax
evasion, mail fraud, and bribery in connection with the county govern-
ment's purchase of voting machines.
The 72-year-old Mr. Barrett was accused of accepting $180,000 in
bribes between 1967 and 1970 from the Shoup Voting Machine Company
of Philadelphia (now out of business) for recommending the purchase
of 900 of the company's voting machines.
Mr. Barrett is also accused of receiving kickbacks for placing in-
surance on the voting machines.
* * *
DAILY STAFF writer Kathy Ricke reports if you're thinking '-of
travelling to Washington D.C., the Gaithersburg Holiday Inn has just
the accomodations you might be looking for.
Ask for the Presidential suite, but don't be surprised to find out
go- that it covers eight floors. Or that it has three bedrooms - complete
is with a Roman whirlpool bath, sauna, and circular rotating velvet-lined
un- bed. If that seems a bit plush you might want to retire to the "vice
ies presidential waterbed room". Or maybe even the maid's room (no
ss- fancy bed, but a remote control color t.v. and gold plated bathroom
c h fixtures).
ed; If you get thirsty during the night just reach to one of the faucets
on- on the headboard and pour yourself a scotch and soda, or maybe a
to martini (extra dry).
On your way out in the morning don't forget to stop by the
"executive room" and pick up your "free" cigars.
but As' you pull away in your chauffer driven limousine - it's part of
ion. the deal try hard not to look out the window or you might see what's
ud- there.
nds In an area where twenty per cent of the total population makes
ber less than $5,000.00 annually is one hotel suite that cost $200,000 just to
res'
not decorate and has never been used. For $1,400.00 a night who could
ny afford it?
ny NEW YORK - The three American pilots freed by North Vietnam
un- landed at Kennedy International Airport last night and immediately
nts an incident erupted.
of Lieut. (jg) Mark Gartley of the Navy initially refused a military
request that he immediately go to St. Albans N a v a 1 Hospital in
New York for a medical check-up..Gartley, who had been escorted to the
ght U.S. by his mother, instead demanded that he be permitted to spend
a few days at home with his family.
tor A violent shouting match then erupted between Ms. Gartley and
a Defense Department official, who insisted that the lieutenant go to
the hospital.
he "We just wanted a couple of days when he could be completely
y- free," Ms. Gartley said amid sobs, "free of the Navy, free of the
it Government, free of the press and free- of the North Vietnamese."
311 Dr. Roger Shields, the chief Pentagon officer for prisoner affairs,
00 told Ms. Gartley, "He's an officer in the United States Navy."
Lieut. Gartley finally agreed to go to the hospital.
41
GradI
By ZACHARY SCHILLER
FOR A COUPLE of years now,
articles such as this one have
each spring, detailed the bleak out-
look for job-seekers, both college-
educated and otherwise.
However forboding the employ-
ment situation seemed, though,
there was always the hint that, at
least for those with college de-1
grees, the outlook would eventually
brighten. For, after all, who could
get a job if a college graduate
could not? ,
In answer to this seemingly rhe-
torical question has come a study
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
on the current job outlook al well
as a CBS documentary and several
articles in leading periodicals. The
verdict of all is summed up by
"Business Week":
"The mismatch between gradu-
ates and jobs looks less like a tem-
porary thing and more like a prob-
lem that will plague the nation for
years to come."
In virtually every field, colleges
and universities are now producing
more trained graduates than there
will be jobs for in the forseeable
future, the magazine reports.
A PARTICULARLY extreme ex-
ample is in the field of education,
ob outlook dim
where one source predicts a teach-
er glut of nearly two million by
1980. But the excess of graduates
over jobs has even moved into the
fields of law and medicine as well;
the Health, Education and Welfare
Dept. predicts an end to the peren-
nial shortage of doctors by 1978.
Does this mean that there is tru-
ly no need for educated people?
Can we say that the overcrowding
of classes, the lack of doctors in
many areas, and rocketing costs of
legal fees will all disappear by the
end of the decade?
Obviously, we cannot.
What we can say is not that ed-
ucated people are unnecessary, but
rather that our economic system
is geared to the needs of the people
who can pay as opposed to the peo-
ple as a whole.
Education in this country receiv-
ed its biggest shot in the arm from
the Soviet Union's Sputnik, which
led the U.S. government to multi-
ply funds for education by seven
times since 1958.
According to magazines like
"Business Week", that big booster
was never directed, so we now
have a classic case of, over-supply:
too many educated people when
jobs increasingly require vocation-
ally skilled and semi-skilled work-
ers.
THE PROBLEM with this arl
ment is that it is superfical; it
not that educated people arei
needed; on the contrary, our cit
cry out for renewal, our cla
rooms are crammed fuller e a
year; pollution continues unabat
the lack of child care facilities c
demns many would-be-workers
the home.
The crisis is not one of need, l
rather of economic organizatit
And the thousands of graduates
employed - the figure now star
at eight per cent of their numt
-will begin to ask themselv
why is it that their skills can:
be used when there are so ma
problems to be solved.
More strikingly than almost a
other phenomenon, that of thei
employed college graduate poi
out the inequities, of our mode
economic organization.
Zachary Schiller is a Daily Ni
ltor and a frequent contribu
to this page.
The Editorial Page of Th
Michigan Daily is open to an:
one who wishes to subm
articles. Generally speaking, a
articles should be less than 1,0C
words.
The sick state of welfare
z
THREE YEARS AGO President Nixon
went on record promising his
staunch support for welfare reform. In
virtually every major speech during his
term of office, he has underlined the
urgency of getting his welfare program
through Congress.
Now ironically, the Administration in
refusing to compromise its original plan,
threatens to block passage of any wel-
fare legislation at all this year.
In an Administration news release
yesterday, Health, Education and Welfare
Secretary Elliot Richardson declared that
Nixon would only support the Adminis-
tration plan.
The original Nixon plan, which has
already been passed by the House, guar-
Today's staff:
News: Dave Burhenn, Tommy Jacobs,
John Marston, Jonathan Miller, Chris
Parks
Editorial: Robert Schreiner
Photo Technician: David Margolick
Published at 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104
Owner - Board for Student Publications.
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104
Bond or Stockholders - none.
Average Press Run - 7200
Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan,
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.
antees an annual income of $2,400 to a
family of four. This plan includes per-
sons unemployed along with persons re-
ceiving substandard wages.
However, the Nixon p'lan is disputed
first by a proposal from the more con-
servative Senators. Their proposal would
remove from the welfare rolls all able-
bodied persons who refused to work.
ON THE LEFT, most liberal Democrats
support a counter-proposal by Sen-
ator Abraham Ribicoff (D-Conn.) which
would raise the guaranteed income to a
figure of-$2,600 for a family of four. Ribi-
coff's plan also seeks to test guaranteed
income and wage supplements for the
working poor under a pilot program.
The Administration release yesterday
contradicted a statement issued in Au-
gust when Richardson had conceded
"there's going to be some give and take"
on the matter.,
The threat of a Senate deadlock aggra-
vates the welfare issue and inevitably
perpetuates the much-lamented status
quo. With the principle of welfare reform
long conceded as necessary three years
is high time to come forth with action if
Nixon's promise is to be made credible.
Operating as a "democratic" govern-
ment for "democratic" reform the Ad-
ministration cannot afford such royal
adamancy of "all or none" with regard to
plans for popular welfare reform.
-MARCIA ZOSLAW
,.
Letters: SGC's credibility less than Nixon's
To The Daily:
I READ THE "Find Joel Silver-
stein and win a cookie" caper
with a mixture of amusement and
disgust. To me this affair is typical
of our "student government", and
I consider myself most gracious
for using those words.
With who else but SGC would a
nationwide manhunt be necessary
to locate the members. Student Lo-
cator should have a subdivision
called SGC locator or maybe we
should hang a bell around their
necks and put a sign on them say-
ing "I belong to SGC, please help
me find my way to Ann Arbor."
With all the bickering and in-
fighting I could swear I was watch-
ing little children fighting over a
new toy. I thought I'd seen every-
thing in Cook County until last
year's SGC election. These are the
"responsible" '(I feel so generous)
individuals who are to help pro-
vide the means of change in the,
University community.
Who has a bigger credibility gap,
Nixon or SGC? How can we de-
mand more out of establishment
politicians if we can't do better our-
selves?
The real tragedy is in the fact
that Silverstein was right when
he said ". . . I can represent the
students from here (California) just
as well as from there (Ann Ar-
bor)." They all might as well be
on the moon. Let Silverstein have
his seat or take it away, w h a t'
difference does it make?
Won't we ever have
a group
--.
(excuse the pun) that will enable
us to take the quotes off "student
government"?
-Mike Townsend '74
Sept. 26
Abortion
To The Daily:
I AM EXCEEDINGLY tired of
reading articles, letters, and edi-
torials about the abortion fracas
written by men who feel the need
to proclaim their "liberality" des-
pite their anti-abortion stand. In
regard to William Manwaring's
letter (Daily, Sept. 28), I have
only one response: you are a man,
Mr. Manwaring, and you will nev-
er have to skulk around seeking
an illegal, and perhaps unsafe,'
abortion.
You won't have to go hundreds of
miles to find a safe and legal abor-
tion. The problem is a woman's
problem; it strikes me as the worst
sort of inhumanity for a man to
take it upon himself to make such
a critical woman's decision.
Interestingly enough, I know of
no operation that is denied to men
by reasons of illegality.
When I say I am pro-abortion
I am saying only that I wish to be
able to live my life on my own
terms and regulate my body as I
see fit.
I am not asking all women to
have - or even to condone - abor-
tions; I am asking that I be per-
mitted to undergo an abortion if I
so choose. I am not condemning
men on a grand, general scale; I
am questioning men's right to con-
trol what I do with myself. For
that matter, I also question ano-
ther woman's right to deny me the
privilege of abortion.
It is my decision on every level
but the legal one. For those of
ist Party Senatorial Candidate Tho-
mas Dennis was racist and anti-
Communist. Reporter Paul Travis
distorted and omitted substantial
portions of Dennis' campaign. In-
stead of reporting Dennis' positions,
Travis seemed fascinated with the
prospects of Dennis not winning.
Reading the article, there are at
least five different places where
Travis concludes that Dennis won't
win - or even get many votes.'
At the same time, the article
barely mentions the CP positon
against war and repression. The
CP position against racism, and for
Black-white Chicago unity in the
peoples' struggles, is omitted en-
tirely.
And nowhere in the article is
there even a mention of Dennis' re-
cent participation in the peoples'
struggles, most notably his o u t -
standing role in the movement to
Free Angela Davis and all political
prisoners.
So, not only does the article
downgrade the chances of Thomas
Dennis to receive a sizeable vote,
it distorts his-and his party's-
participation in struggle, and omits
the CP position on the centrality of
the fight against racism.
Finally, it must be pointed out
that the Communist Party is not
in the election only to win votes.
The CP candidates are exposing
reactionary candidates and helping
to build a fighting anti-monopoly
coalition based on the working
class and Black-white-Chicano un-
ity. To reduce the CP campaign on-
ly to votes is to miss, the boat.
The Daily owes Dennis and his
party an apology and owes its
readers objective reporting on the
issues and candidates in the 1972
elections.
novement and a magazine which
he has probably never read.
It is obvious that the conven-
tional press has thus far failed to
discuss controversial topics about
the very role and status of their
female readers. Too often, wo-
men's issues have been relegated to
the }'dear abby' and 'sweet and
sour tuna recipe' pages.
Her-self newspaper was form-
ed last spring to create a much
needed outlet for all women in the
community. It has a wide distri-
bution and, incidentally, a large
number of male subscribers. Most
all of the articles are contributed
by members of the community and
not the editors.
With Her-self's fifth issue cur-
rently going to press; Corbet's of-
fer to donate his "organizational
ability" comes a bit too late. Any
constructive enterprise such as a
newspaper does not need "male
muscle power." Rather, it requires
intelligence, creativity, and per-
severence.
Besides, the idea of having a
"male quota" (as Corbet suggests)
is as ludicrous as having quotas
for those with 'red hair' or 'fal-
len arches.' Corbet's paternalism
is reminiscent of white suburban-
ites trying to advise the Blacks.
Corbet claims that "there is a
disturbing tendency for certain ele-
ments to dominate the otherwise
legitimate concern for women's
rights." It seems that -Corbet is
unaware that these "certain ele-
ments" are actually the women in
the community. Perhaps he would
feel less threatened if the wo-
men's movemenat were more con-
cerned with his own personal re-
actions rather than with women's
issues.
-ri5c K 1MBMPY t' A
AP2V50R TO PRESIL7&)T$ 1-K)
1fi6 F(6t-1OF F6(6tU POLICYI
is CALUF IN THS
A
('N
fREPO5 AKJDciPN~~R OF
OF H15 OPTIOKY.
t .
t
. ..,'
N
4r
AMA'
EVCRY -TILI (06
wFapo(T, - -
TK6 FlRfsTrUJM6
THE &)XT REG' f-r
ES K)c CO.-.
VOTE~ To SEA£ON(CH (
WrO CNJLN2DATI.
A.Vi4-
f34J(t K65 ( I &)EOMFV2Y. .
$
v
."