Vie £id$ga aihj Eightytwo years of editorial freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Brandt victory: A break with the past 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. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1972 New ward bo uary plan POLITICS IS A game played by those who desire power, either, for them- selves, for others, or for the people. One of the tools that is employed to obtain this power is redistricting - the altering of political boundaries to favor those setting the boundaries. For nearly two years, the Ann Arbor Ward Boundary Commission has been attempting to set new ward lines in the city. From the beginning, this effort has been plagued by accusations, haggling, and abortive settlements. NiX011 'bombs' LETTING US know what President Nix- on's mandate means, Press Secre- tary Ron Ziegler dropped word that Elliot Richardson, who compiled a mediocre re- cord at best as Secretary of Health, Edu- cation, and Welfare, will become Secre- tary of Defense. Richardson will succeed Melvin Laird in that position.. Laird, who earned the nickname "Bombs" while matriculating at Carleton College, was best known for his shiny forehead that resembled an anti-ballis- tic missile and his beady eyes. His illogi- cal defense of Vietnam involvement, ABM, and defense spending remain the pillars on which the American defense temple is positioned. In Richardson, the President gets the kind of public servant that is quite able to carry forward the "Bombs" tradition.. After his handling of the sensitive prob- lems in health and welfare, one could readily see that he was better fit for work with machines anyway. -DAN BORUS A compromise has finally been reach- ed between the Demicratic and Human Rights members on the commission. They have submitted a plan to City Council for approval. This plan should receive council sup- port. Councilmen Robert Faber and Nelson Meade, both Democrats, oppose the com- promise plan on the grounds that it was drawn to satisfy political demands and that the lines were gerrymandered. They are mistaken, however, if they feel that there has been any success- ful previous attempt by the boundary commission to draw a non-political, non- gerrymandered system of wards in the city. From the nature of city ward govern- ment, all that can come out of such boundary commissions are partisan at- tempts to garner political gains. In many cities, the ward concept, a vestige of the boss era, has been replaced by a city- wide system of proportional representa- tion. SOME CLAIM that the compromise plan favors the Republicans, and there are thase who claim that the plan favors the Democrats. They base their opinions on the returns from last spring's elec- tions. It should be kept in mind that the only way any party is going to receive the share of votes it desires, is to win voters, not twist boundaries. The only statistics that matter are not last April's election results but the return of future elecions. That is how the political game is won or lost. -DAVID BURHENN By ALFRED GROSSER WHAT A marvelous triumph! You can quibble about it by argu- ing that it was helped by a favour- able economic and international climate, that it was one m o r e victory by an established leader. But it is precisely everything that Willy Brandt stands for which mak- es his election victory last Sun- day so magnificent. At the heart of it all was a break with the past. Or more exactly, a past accepted, assimilated, over- come. The Chancellor enhanced his prestige when he went down on his knees at the memorial in the War- saw ghetto, his acceptance of the consequences of the Nazi war work- ed in his favour. A massive slan- der campaign concentrating on the "Norwegian" phase of his life did not affect him at all. Bonn is quite clearly not Weimar. Exorcised at last is that old curse going back to 1923 which equated the Social Dem- ocrats with inflation, and inflation with the worst calamities possible. And money was vanquished by militant commitment. H e r r Brandt's ruling coalition was not exactly bereft of campaign funds, but the opposition Christian Dem- ocrat Union had truly vast resourc- es at its disposal. It was only an unprecedented mobilization which allowed the voters to become poli- tically aware in an intelligent way. A MASSIVE vote is usually said to be the result of a stampede to the polling booths by a panic-strick- en nonpolitical electorate. T h i s time it was the age bracket in which abstention from voting was most marked in 1969 - y o u n g people, that is, who were reached by the campaigning of innumer- able civic-minded militants, rang- ing from celebrated writers down to the anonymous distributors of handbills, turned out overnight by the million to answer opposition arguments intthe pressrand on tele- vision. Daring paid off, as did good sense and honesty. Curiously enough, defections by Liberal and Social Democrat depu- ties appear to have voted in Herr Brandt's favour by prompting the coalition to close ranks behind a 4 A w /\ N4fl Britain are at the center, and the no)itilian who moves too far to the right or the left loses the elections. This adroitness is going to cause a lot of problems for the Chancellor with the leading faction of his own party, and render his social and economic policies ambigious. At the same time, his kind atti- tude towards the Liberals (FDP) is going to make then forget that they owe much of their revival to the intelligent determination of thousands of voters not to let the poll drop below the fateful S per cent mark, which would have elim- inated them from Parliament and given the Christian Democrats an absolute majority. At least, that was what w a s thought. For Social Democrats alone were :expected to gain more seats than their opponents. The SPD has in fact emerged, a n d quite handsomely, from the un- hapy situation they had been in of iever-ending minority governments. Like the Labour Party in Britain, and its fellow parties in Scandin- avia and Austria, the SPD has succeeded in giving the Federal Re- public something it lacked in Ade- nauer's time to become a real democracy: the possibility of a genuine alternation of power. A HEAVY turn-out, respect for the voter, an incitement to whole- hearted commitment rather than passion, to a determination to build rather than hate and bit- terness: yes, the Federal Ger- man Republic has just witnessed the triumph of democracy, a tri- umph which leaves people in France with mixed feelings. It makes them a bit envious, for the comparison with France is inevit- able. But also rather satisfied, since all those who for the 1 a s t quarter century have been bet- ting on the democratic future of the new West German State now find themselves amply rewarded for their steadfastness. Alfred Grosser is a writer for Le Monde. Reprinted with per- mission. Super Beetle man victimised treachery. A pre- liminary analysis of the results shows that women voters were grateful to a government w h i c h was begining to tackle frankly a problem as tragic as abortion. The big loser here is the Ger- man episcopate, which in the last two years had been moving in a direction diametrically opposite to that of its French counterpart. Whereas the major political p r o - nouncements of the French episco- pate stress both pluralism and the demands of social justice, t h e German Church took a direct part in the election campaign to fight on behalf of the most entrenched principles of private life. So, for instance, the pre-election Sunday sermon was not merely sat- isfied with severely condemning any tinkering with the Penal Code's article 118, prohibiting abortion, but went on to declare that it was proof that old people would short- ly be sacrificed in the name of economic efficiency. Such state- ments would have had a capital effect a few years ago, but today their impact is quite limited. Adroitness, no doubt, a 1 s o had something to do with it. But then, must honesty necessarily be mala- droit? Herr Brandt understood far better than Senator McGovern the humdrum realities which limit soc- ial change. The bulk of voters in Germany as well as in the US and Letters: AAUP clarifies Green stand' Now, the 'real issues' GORGE ROMNEY has resigned from the Nixon cabinet and announced plans to head a "non-partisan ... body of truth seekers and communicators ... on life and death issues . . . in a coali- tion of concerned citizens." The emphasis on non-partisanship was striking, since President-elect Nixon stressed in 1968 that his would be an in- elusive, "bring us together" administra- tion with Democrats at the highest lev- els. When Sen. Henry Jackson declined the. defense cabinet post, all the Presi- dent got was John Connally. Romney slammed the failure of both Nixon and McGovern to discuss the "real Editorial Staff SARA FITZGERALD Editor PAT BAUER..........Associate Managing Editor LINDSAY CHANEY ................Editorial Director MARR DILLEN.................. Magazine Editor LINDA DREEBEN........Associate Managing Editor TAMMY JACOBS.................Managing Editor ARTHUR LERNER............... Editorial Director ROBERT SCHREINER ...........Editorial Director GWRIA JANE SMITH ................. Arta Editor ED SUROVELL........... .... ......Books Editor PAUL TRAVIS...........Associate Managing Editor NIGHT EDITORS: Robert Barkin, Jan Benedetti, Di- ane Levick, Jim O'Brien, Chris Parks, Charles Stein, Ted Stein. COPY EDITORS: Meryl Gordon, Debra Thai. EDITORIAL NIGHT EDITORS: Fred Shell Martin Stern. DAY EDITORS: Dave Burhenn, Jim Kentch, Marilyn Riley, Judy Ruskin, Eric Schoch, Sue Stephen- son, Ralph Vartabedian, Becky Warner. TELEGRAPH/ASSOCIATE NIGHT EDITORS: Prakash Awani, Gordon Atcheson, Laura Berman, Penny Blank, Dan Blugerman, Bob Burakoff, Beth Eg- nater, Ted Evanoff, Cindy Hill, Debbie Knox, David Stoll, Terri Terrell. issues" - including problems of the cities, U. S. industry in world competi- tion and the growing power of trade unions and business corporations. "I'm a living example of the fact that you can't afford to be right too soon and win. If you go back to my record on Vietnam you will see I was right. But even the press didn't understand my po- sitions well enough to report them so I was washed out," he remarked (empha- sis not Romney's). ROMNEY SHOULD be welcomed to the field of "real issue" discussion. He might start out by saying why he didn't straighten out both the press and the President on his Vietnam position over the last four years, or what he thinks and what he has done for or against a graduated income tax in this state. The ex-governor condemned the poli- ticians' "fear of offending uninformed voters and thus losing votes." So true, George, they fear offending the unin- formed, but have no scruples when it comes to the informed. -ARTHUR LERNER Today's staff: News: Debbie Allen, Jan Benedetti, Pot Bauer, Terry Martin, Jerry Nanninga, Judy Ruskin Editorial Page: Lindsay Chaney, K a t h y l Ricke Arts Page: Herb Bowie Photo technician: Rolfe Tessem To The Daily: LET ME amplify The Daily's re- port of Wed., Nov. 22, that the American Association of Univer- sity Profesors (AAUP) has "re- fused to back" Prof. Mark Green's request that a chemistry depart- mental committee's findings of 'in- appropriate" use of class time be overturned. Both the executive committee of, the local chapter and the Wash- ingtoncoffice are studying the case and will continue to do so. The local chapter's executive commit- tee recently decided to take a neu- tral stand, for the present, to avoid any pre-judgment of an issue not, yet resolved. AAUP procedures call for fur- ther investigation, if any, only by the Washington office to ensure the utmost objectivity. The local chap- ter's role is basically that of in- termediary and aid in communica- tion. -Sheridan Baker President, Michigan Chap- ter AAUP Nov. 25 Black plan' To The Daily: CITY COUNCIL will vote Wed- nesday night on a proposed plan to redraw Ann Arbor's five wards. The plan is known as the "Black Plan" and, while it has been de- scribed as a compromise that would assure liberal-radical c o n- trol of city council, it in no way guarantees this. In fact, it is more likely to produce a Republican ma- jority. Based on last April's vote, t h i s plan's first ward is a Democratic- HRP tossup. The second ward has HRP about three-to-two over Demo- crats with Republicans far behind. The third ward is sixty percent Republican. Republicans get about fifty per- cent in the fifth ward, with Demo- crats about einght percent (about 600 votes) behind. The fourth ward gives Republicans about a f i v e percent margin over the Demo- crats. HRP is far behind in bath wards. Considering the unusually srong races run last year by Democrats Franz Mogdis and Mona W a i z and a low Republican turnout in those areas, the Republican lead in the fifth ward will be very hard to overcome. The fourth ward is more hopeful, but is not at all certain. What this demonstrates is a strong possibility of a Republican majority on council: HRP h a s stated that, if the "Black Plan". which it supports, is defeated, their council people will vote for the Republican "Green Plan" 'vhich assuresGOP control.aIt sems aw- fully strange that a left-ra dical party should be so wiliing to en- hance the fortunes of conservative Republicans. -Tom Wieder Nov. 28 Poison water To The Daily: WHILE THE United States fed- eral and most state and local gov- ernments pretend to be concerned about the pollution of our nation's air, water and land, many of these governments deliberately poison the drinking water of millions of people by the deadliest most wick- ed and illegal method of pollution ever devised by man. Three Wayne University profes- sors found bone damage in r a t s who were fed 1 part per million sodium fluoride for six months. They presented their evidence to the Wayne County Medical Society. No qualified doctor prescribes the same medicine for all of his patients, yet lay people, who have no knowledge of medicine, a r e forcing everyone in many cities to take a deadly poison in uncontrol- lable doses every day for a life- time. This procedure probably has some relation to the behavior of many people. Fluoridation of public water supplied denies human free- dom, the freedom of a doctor to treat his patient as he thinks best and the freedom of the patient to choose whether to accept or reject the medication advised. There is evidence that flourida- tion does not prevent tooth decay, and that it makes conservative dentistry more difficult. The only safe and effective way to prevent tooth decay is by not using white sugar and foods containing t h i s sugar. Any doctor should know that refined sugar combines with cal- cium in the body - thus robbing it of necesary calcium for teeth and bones. The treatment of tooth decay, like that of other non-contagious diseases is not a matter of public health, but it is one of individual health and freedom. -Louise2Waldon Nov. 20 Rep blicans To The Daily: IT IS WITH great sorrow that we note that The Daily failed to acknowledge more than one of the many possible Republicanbcandi- dates for mayor of Ann Arbor. Al- though James Stephenson is most certainly the front runner, we know of at least three other potential candidates - Louis Ernst, J o h n Hathaway, and Bowen Alpern. While we would find any of these three highly preferable to M r. Stephenson, we feel that Mr. Al- pern most embodies the principles and policies of Radical Republi- cans. It is for this reason that the Ann Arbor Chapter of Radical Re- publicans urges the candidacy of Mr. Alpern. We also feel that the candidacy of Bowen Alpern would be a first step towards removing the stigma of Richard Nixon from the Repub- lican party. -Steve Gurevitz, '76 Thomas Jefferson Penn III, '74 Co-chairpersons, Radical Republicans Nov. 27 "All right, you can rinse out your mouth now ..as long as you don't use water." ABOlUT QV6R AAAl A STR~O GJ LiOFT Z 7awr~ RI&HT OF 2$k1 /. OF CIVW p. RGHT. Family planning To The Daily: AN ARTICLE published in t h e Sunday, November 5 issue of the Ann Arbor News announced the plans of the new Family Planning Medical Service, Inc., to open a clinic serving people in Washtenaw County. This non-profit clinic would replace the present Planned Parent- hood facility in Ann Arbor, and it would be run by a seven-member board controlled by physicians. Planned Parenthood officers, a philanthropist, and other high stat- us people. In response to these develop- ments, community women have or- ganized the Coordinating Commit- tee for Representation of Women in Health Planning. The group, whose aim is to secure consumer power in all health services, has written a position statement and is negotiating for increased con- sumer representation on the soon- to-be-established Board of Family Planning Medical Service, Inc. The Service's planers have re- sponded positively thus far, and we are anticipating a real first in health care for Washtenaw Coun- ty - a privately operated clinic which, by incorporating consumer power at the policy making level, recognizes that health care is a basic right and a public good. The Coordinating Committee for ning Medical Service Board. All concerned women are invited to work on this proposal at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at St. An- drew's Church, 306 North Division, Ann Arbor (lower entrance on Divi- sion St.). Everyone who is new to the work will be brought up to date by a review at the beginning of the meeting. So please attend - we must have a good cross-section of women in the community! Health care for people - not for profit! -Jan BenDor Coordinating Committee for the Representation of Women in Health Planning Nov. 21 Get involved- write your reps! Sen. Philip Hart (Dem), Rm. 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitoi Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep), Rm. 353 Old Senate Bldg., Cape itol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Rep. Marvin Eseh (Rep), Rm. /ARU vQt /t;; . , 11 CMO&kL- CF -~ru ~ 6)RA l vAPC 'rAO f- 4 1 -mAW -l4 ,,.^^ s -'-',.