F age 4-Friday, December 2, 1977-The Michigan Daily
a
Eighty-Eight Years of Editorial Freedom
± 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Vol.LXVIII, No. 70
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by-students at the University of Michigan
Garter's hailing of Mideast
moves: Too little, too late
I was an Amtrak, rider
W HEN ANWAR el-SADAT made
his historic pilgrimage to Is-
Vael's Knesset in mid-November, the
4vent won honest praise from every
expected source - except for one.
SEndorsement of the trip by the
United States was conspicuously ab-
sent. The administration remained
surprisingly detached and cool about
the Mideast until Wednesday, when
President Carter decided to hail the
Oew initiatives by leaders of #the two
countries as an "historic break-
through."
That Carter finally lent his support
to the initiatives is good,' but his words
come well past the time they would
have aided in any breakthrough. In
;fact, this week's backing of the pro-
posed Cairo talks by the U.S. only ser-
ves to reduce the negotiations to the
same old 'U.S.-on-one-side, U.S.S.R.-
on-the-other' mentality.
The time for a Carter administra-
tion show of support came when Sadat
first offered to go to Jerusalem. But
even as the Egyptian President's plane
was landing at Ben-Gurion Airport,
White House and State Department
spokesmen were downplaying the most
significant step toward peace that the
Mideast has seen sirice Israel was
-.liven statehood.
j Even now, Washington seems to be
adhering to a silent convictioq that the
only permanent Mideast settlement
will come from Washington - not from'
Cairo or Jerusalem. It is almost as if
Carter believes the two superpowers
know what is best for Arabs, Israelis
and Palestinians alike.
Perhaps the most important thing
the Sadat initiative has proven is that
Mideast countries are capable of solv-
ing their own disputes - when so mo-
tivated. Now that the countries are mo-
tivated, the United States should step
back and become an impartial observ-
er.
T HERE ARE MANY interpreta-
tions as to why Carter did not
formally endorse peace initiatives put
forth by Sadat and Begin long ago.
Whether it was for fear that the pil-
grimage would fail, or whether the ad-
ministration simply resented Sadat's
brave initiatives, the wait-and-see atti-
tude taken by Carter was not charac-
teristic of his image as a crusader for
.human rights around the world. The
United States, in textbooks at least,
has always been the first to recognize
and nurture improvements in relation-
ships among its siblings.
Carter's belated endorsement of the
Mideast development makes it appear
as if the administration is sore because
it didn't think of the Sadat pilgrimage
idea first.
Not all roads to Geneva run through
Washington.
By PAUL SHAPIRO
A gentle snow drifts down from
the gray Chicago sky. The cities
ostreets, covered in snow, glisten.
The scene is poetic, peaceful. In
contrast my television blares
nasty tidings. TRAVEL ALERT.
HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDI-
TIONS. DO NOT DRIVE. It is the
Sunday after Thanksgiving and I
must return to school. Digging in-
to my pocket I shell out eighteen
bucks and opt for the comfort of
Amtrak.
I would have been better off
walking. What follows is a brief
account of my nine-and-one-half-
hour journey between Chicago
and Ann Arbor.
12:45 - Arrive at Union Station
one hour before departure time,
as instructed by Amtrak informa-
tion, and report o gate. There is
a man with a megaphone at the
departure ramp and he instructs
all passengers on Train number
352 (destination Detroit) to
return to the Amtrak lounge -
there will be a' short delay in
taking off. The crowd moans and
scatters. I buy a rubber ham-
burger and nearly choke.
2:00 I am still sitting in the
Amtrak lounge and if I hear one
more muzak version of Glen
Campbell's Witchita Lineman,'
there will be violence. I stroll up
to the information counter, but I'
can tell by the look in the at-
tendant's eyes that the train con-
tinues to be in limbo. It is.
2:30 - I decide to return to the
departure ramp (as we were
specifically told not to do) in
hopes of outsmarting the rest of
the crowd and securing a nice
window seat. When I arrive at the
gate I realize that I have been a
bit slow. 500 angry passengers
are milling about, and I am-at the
end of the line. Suddenly the PA
system announces that Train 352
(destinations Niles, Kalamazoo,
Battle Creek, Albion, Jackson,
Ann Arbor, and Detroit) Will be
loading at Gate 28. I'm at the end
of the line and it looks like I'll
have to settle for an aisle seat
next to some undesirable old
lady, but at least I have the Sun-
day paper and a chance to relax.
That was not to be. For some un-
known reason Amtrak officials
pew
C=3 I= => 1= C5 I= C5
f.t L'
proceed to lead the crowd into a
circular formation around Union
Station resembling a halt-time
show by the Michigan marching
band. The crowd finally erupts
and explodes in all directions in
search of the actual boarding
ramp (which, was not 28). I am
lost in the scuffle and, only after
receiving an excellent pick from
a woman wearing a Women's
Sports Has Balls' T-shirt, do I
make my way to the train.
Unfortunately ithe train looks
.quite similar to a Tokyo subway
at rush hour. There may be trou-
ble finding a seat, so I press an
inquiry to the conductor. "Why
are three cars reserved for Niles
and only one for Ann Arbor?" I
ask. He bites my hand and kicks
me in the groin.. A fight breaks
out behind me and the crowd is
swelling, everyone pushing to
gain admittance to the train. The
flow of the masses brings me to a
halt in front of the car's women's
bathroom, and it is there I will
spend a good part of the trip. I try
and get off the train, but the doors
are sealed.
3:30 - I now know what it was
like for my grandparents to sail
to this country in steerage.. The
train is packed so tight that one
can barely move an inch. To
make matters worse every
woman on the train seems to
have bladder problems. There is
a non-stop assault on the john
which forces me to sit face to
knees much of the ride. To add to
that, a number of men have taken
to using the women's room, re-
treating there for suspiciously
long periods of time and creating
a ,.waiting line which flows over
my lap. The train grinds to a halt
just outside Gary, and we sit for
another hour.
4:30 - The young boy next to
'me is dying of const*nption. He is
continuously coughing, snorting,
and dribbling. Someone asks if
there is a priest on board. I hold
my breath as much as possible.
'k:30 - We stop in Niles for two
hours. No doubt the engineer is
having -an affair in town, as he
departs the train. He returns in a
tizzy, foaming at the mouth, and
proceeds to start and stop the
train eight times in 45 seconds.
The train exudes a loud blast and
we sit some more.
6:30 While waiting, I decide
to fight my way to the snack car
for a sandwich. Wrong move
again. The Amtrack chefs have
used Sea N' Ski in lieu of mayon-
naise. I'm forced to wash the
sandwich down with a 70 cent,
non-carbonated cola.
7:30 - We reach Kalamazoo,
where throngs on angry citizens
await our arrival. Passengers on
the train stir and I notice an el-
derly man standing up. He is dis-
embarking! I quickly grab my
bags and dash up the aisle, step-
ping on a few poor souls who lie
face down on the carpet. I dive
for the seat, my N.Y. Times flies
all over the car, but I make it.
Outside, passengers appear to be
heading toward our already over-
burdened car. A man yells, "Bolt
the door! " We deny them en-
trance.
9:00 - Passing through Battle
Creek an angry young woman
rises and reads a petition she has
written, addressed to Senators
Riegle and Griffin, deploring the
conditions of our journey. She
receives a standing ovation and
everyone signs.
10:00 -Through a crackling
loudspeaker the engineer offers a
meager apology: "At least Am-
trak had delivered us safely," he
concludes. Someone in the back
of the car shouts, "We haven't
arrived yet asshole." Everyone
laughs as the lights flicker and
die.
The facts in the abo"re arti-
cle are true. Only the exagger-
. tions, have been changed to
protect the innocent. Paul ~
Shapiro, a Daily Arts staffer,
admits he may eventually ride
another Amtrak train. But not
l
too soon.
BUSINESS STAFF
DEBORAH DREYFUSS.....................Business Manager
COLLEEN HOGAN......................Operations Manager
ROD KOSANN........ .................... Sales Manager
NANCY GRAU................A..............Display Manager
ROBERT CARPENTER .....................Finance Manager
SHELLEY SEEGER............Classified Manager
SUSAN BARRY National Ad Manager
PETE PETERSEN ................ Advertising Coordinator
STAFF MEMBERS; Steve Barany, Bob Bernstein, Richard
Campbell, Joan Chartier, Frdd Coale, Caren Collins, Pam Counen,
Lisa Culberson, Kim Ford, Bob Friedman, Kathy Friedman,
Denise Gilardone, Nancy Granadier, Cindy Greer, Amy Hart-
man, Susan Heiser, Larry Juran, Carol Keller, Randy Kelley,
Dough Kendall, Katie Klinkner, Jon Kottler, Lisa Krieger,
Debbie Litwak, Deb Meadows, Art Meyers, John Niemisto,
John O'Connor, Seth Petok, Dennis Ritter, Arlene Saryan,
Carole Schults, Claudia Sill Jim Tucker Karen Urbani, Beth
Warren
PHOTOGRAPHY STAFF
ALAN BILINSKY ....................Chief Photographer
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CHRISTINA SCHNEIDER................ Staff Photographer
l
Re-encountering
Editorials which appear without a by-line represent a con-
sensus opinion of the Daily's editorial board. All other editorials,
as well as cartoons, are the opinions of the individuals who sub-
mit them.
Carter's
By WALTER R. MEARS
WASHINGTON-It's a big
season for shopping lists; and
j President Carter's is a long one.
f Not too long, he says, and not im-
possible to fill.
M But as he nears the end of his
first year in office, Carter, has
hundreds of promises out there
waiting to be kept or quietly put
aside.
"
promises
THE MATTER came up at his
news conference the other day,
and Carter said he's doing just
fine in keeping his vows to the
voters.
I'm trying to fulfill all my
promises," he said. "I think I was
quite reticient in making those
promises, certainly compared to
some of my opponents."
That's a little ironic, since at
Why rents rise so fast
Design by Karl Schweikart
Written by Stephen Hersh,
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A new group of tenants has moved in, and Mr. Gray
has set their rent higher than what the previous
tenants paid. To figure out how much rent he wan-
ted to charge, Mr. Gray tallied up his mortgage
costs, property taxes, utility costs, miscellaneous
expenses, and the monthly profit he decided he
should earn on the building.
u
RTyA ES
> , ,
campaign time Carter's- rivals '
used to chorus complaints that he
was vague, imprecise and quite
impossible to nail down on the
issues.
And it is even more ironic that
Carter, accused of fuzziness then,
is being questioned now as to
whether he made too many
promises when he was seeking
the White House.
"... We put forward already to
the Congress proposals that
carry out the major promises
that I made, reorganization,
energy, welfare reform and so
forth." "So forth" apparently in-
cludes major income tax reform,
on which Carter has not yet
acted.
Reorganization of the gover-
nment has begun, slowly, as Car-
ter always said it would. Welfare
reform awaits action next year.
Energy is snarled in
congressional dispute, the out-
come in doubt.
WHATEVER the final product,
it will bear little resemblance to
the administration energy bill
which Carter once vowed to get
passed if he had to fight for*very
vote.
Carter said the year's record
will show progress.
"... I think so far our relation-
ship with the Congress has been
good," he said. "The effort to
carry out my promises has been
adequate. I don't think I made too
many promises to the American
people."
It's hard to say how many
promises would be too many;
lthere is no formula. Presumably,
the voters would take care of a
candidate who made too few, by
electing somebody else.
Carter not only made a lot of
promises, he kept track of them.
This is a risky business, as any
parent can testify these days. It's
all too easy to be agreeable in
July, when your 8-year-old has
her eye on the most expensive
doll in the catalogue. It seems a
long time until Christmas, but
don't count on a short memory.
Presidential shopping lists
don't come due at Christmastime
-but they do at the next cam-
paign, unless the opposition is
asleep. The Republicans are not.
They have compiled a, list, of Car- e
ter promises.
THEY PUT the total atj6i2, and
by their figures, he has kept 17.5
per cent of his pledges, broken 13
per cent, with the rest awaiting
action.
The Republicans - say they're':.
going to revise their Carter
report card periodically, with the;
next edition due during the win.
ter.
Carter made their exercise:
easier by publishing his own
compendium of promises. It's,
hard to count precisely, because,
of some overlapping and
duplication, but the White House
book lists 665 Pledges made;.
during the Carter campaign.
To match them all, Carter.
would have to keep a promise
every 2.2 days, including;
weekends and holidays, in. order,
to finish the list in a four-year-
term.
That's assuming he doesn't:
make any more. But it does not,
iscount the ones he already has
ecided won't be kept, like the,
deregulation of natural gas
prices for a five-year period and
the maintenance of U.S. control
of the Panama Canal.
Back on Feb. 23, after the
promises book was made public,
Carter said he was determined to:
keep all of them.
Inevitably and properly, Carter
has made changes that scrapped,
some campaign promises. The,
wisdom born of experience-
demands that of any president:
One who tried to govern straight'
from the campaign speechbook:
would be in for trouble. The an
swers of 1976 do not necessarily
fit the problems of 1977.
Still, the right Carter reserved,,'
to go back to the people and. ex=
plain differences between what
he said then and what he is dding-
now, remains'%in reserve, so fam
unused.
Walter . Mears is a special
correspondent for The Associ.
ated Press. "5
, .
It's 1970, and Mr. Gray has just become the landlord
of a $10,000 building. To buy the building, he made a
$1,000 down payment, and the bank paid the rest
with a loan. Mr. Gray will pay off the bank loan in
monthly installments, which are called mortgage
payments.
_ _
r 'rt--
la
As he collects the rent checks every, month, Mr.
Gray sets aside a certain portion of the rent income
to cover his mortgage payments. Banks set the cost
of a mortgage according to the value of the
building-the more expensive the building, the
higher the mortgage.
MDR i }lE REN"r~
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Contact your rep's
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