M'4 Mihgan 43au Eighty-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, M[ 48109 Bottle bill can work in ichigan By TOM STEVENS Saturday, Uc ter 23, 1976 News Phone: 764-0552 Edited and moaged by students at the University of Michigan 5' Ford tried to rum a numberj on the black community THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, perhaps unlike any other election year, has deteriorated into backstab- bing, innuendo, deceit and has, un- fortunately, dealt rarely with the pertinent issues confronting the American people. The latest tidbit-of misrepresenta- tion was the President Ford Com- mittee's decision to use a photograph of Mr. Ford with Vernon Jordan, the executive director of the Nation- al Urban League, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, director of People United to Save Humanity, and a former White House aide who is now the Africa director of the United States Agen- cy for International Development. The ad appeared in some 21 black weeklies under the heading, "Presi- dent Ford is Quietly Getting the Job Done." Mr. Jordan protested, and rightly so, that the photograph was "unaiu- thorized" and requested the ad be discontinued because it implied "my (Jordan's) endorsement of your can- didacy." The advertisement was stopped Thursday, but the fact remains that Ford actually thought he could con- vince the black community that he was "getting the job done." That's hard to swallow, especially considering the unemployment in the inner cities of this country is run- ning about 35 or 40 per cent; among' teenagers and young adults it is closer to 50 or 60 per cent. It's also hard to believe his state- ment considering his record, both asj President and while he was in Con- gress, on welfare, other social pro- grams and education funding. What job does he think he's getting done? And how is that "job" helping black people in this country? Or anybody for that matter. TODAY'S STAFF: News: Stu McConnell, Lyn Powers, Jeff Ristine, Martha Retallick, Tim Schick, Linda Willcox Editorial Page: Mike Beckman, Rob Meachum, Jon Pansius, Tom Stevensa Arts Page: Lois Josimovich Photo Technician: Scott Eccker BECAUSE OF THE TIDAL WAVE advertising cam- paign put on by the Committee Against Forced Deposits, an acknowledged special-interest front for the soda and beer industry in the state, it will be a pretty close shot if Proposal A goes through next month, as all common sense says it should. The veritably beelzebubic goo the industry has been putting on television seems to be doing its in- tended job, as presently only somewhere over 50 per cent of the state voters are pro A as opposed to some 70 per cent prior to the onset of the industry's war. All this in spite of wholehearted endorsements of A by, among others, state and public groups such as Michigan's Natural Resources Commission, Agri- culture Commission, State Highway Commission, the Michigan Milk Producers Association, the Detroit Audabon Society, the Michigan Parks and Recrea- tion Association, and notably Governor Milliken. ESPECIALLY GOVERNOR MILLIKEN, the elec- ted leader of the state who said in an open letter to the people of Michigan, "I urge Michigan citi- zens ... to join me in supporting Proposal A as a workable and practical step toward a cleaner and better Michigan." Milliken, however, has chosen not to come out in person to make known his feelings about the proposal. If the Governor would only ask for (and receive) five minutes total of prime time TV to tell the people of Michigan, that as their top official, he does indeed urge a yes vote on A, it seemns obvious that the citizenry would probably go along with him. It's hard to believe that Milliken would be denied five minutes (or even two minutes) air time to espouse his belief. Any news show would be glad to plug him into the airwaves. If we would appear before the voters perhaps a dozen times via television, Proposal A might be assured passage. BUT MILLIKEN PROBABLY doesn't feel that would be an equitable thing to do. If Milliken actu- ally did do something that responsible, and Pro- posal A passed as it almost certainly would, the soda and beer industry would be out to get him, calling him "nuts" and "a weirdo" like they did Oregon Governor Tom McCall when he came out all for a throwaway ban and it passed. Milliken allowed a pub- Ton Stevens is a Staff Writer for the Daily Editorial Page. Ralph's Universe lic letter supporting Proposal A only because it was the least he could do, and he realized it. Any truly concerned person, if governor, would undoubtedly do all he or she could in favor of something they sin- cerely believed in, based not only on personal con- viction, but on realistic facts, figures and precedents or examples such as set in Oregon. And it is a fact that Oregon's throwaway ban is a success because the great majority of Oregonians are all for it, praise it and live happily by it. Even if it did not abolish litter there by well over two-thirds, the fact that a majority of the peo- ple are for it indicates its rightness (if not of lit- ter curtailment) of casting a dissenter's vote against the destructiveness and greed of such as the soda and beer corporations. MOST OF THE SODA AND BEER industry's suc- cess in its campaign lies in the amount of money they are spending to defeat A, (at least $1 million and maybe as much as $3-4 million) and the com- parable dearth of funds on the part of Pro A organ- izers, principally the Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) which petitioned the legislature to put the bottle question to the people. MUCC plans, how- ever, to stage its own media blitz in. the week be- fore November 2. Also, the industry is directing its ad campaign at a largely uninformed, impressionable audience; the types of people who watch Bowling For Dollars or Big Time Wrestling and are apt to, get fairly upset when they hear that prices are going to get jacked up on their favorite soft drink (or brew) if A passes, which is untrue. That is the central bargaining point of the Committee Against, but their paper campaigns also stress that it will be a pain in the neck for the consumer to have to bother with returning those cans and bottles. Plus, they say energy will be wasted by extra trucking of returnables. They neglect to note that after delivering throwaways their trucks return to the factory empty. AS THE INDUSTRY SAYS, let's look at the facts: * Prices will not jump up. If they do change, they'll go down. Prices are usually always lower on returnables than on throwaways because with the lat- ter, iiost of the price of the drink goes into the wasteful packaging. Oregon is an example of pop in returnables being cheaper. * A lot, of people will not lose their jobs. It is accepted by unbiased people and state agencies such as the Security Exchange Commission that passage of Proposal A will resu]t in more jobs. Maybe 4,000 more statewide. Even twenty extra jobs would be good. * The industry, makes it- look like everytime peo- ple go to buy soda in returnables they'll have to shell out that outrageous 10 cents per bottle, 5 cents per can deposit. They do not indicate that only once does a deposit have to be paid. After that the con- sumer only has to bring back the bottles and cans' and buy more pop in the same quantity as if there is no deposit, 0 Litter WILL be reduced. Impartial surveys say so, as do the lean, green roadways of Oregon. Hav- ing visited Oregon during the summer, this writer can vouch for that. * And valuable resources will, be conserved. There is more, but the informed reader, such as is found in Ann Arbor, need not be lectured on the merits of Proposal A. WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE is getting the in- dustry's lying babble restrained. It is surprising that a state group or agency has not already filed suit against the Committee Against Forced Deposits for false advertising. With what ridiculous things the Committee has been spouting over TV through the mouths of moronic acting drones, a court injunction against the industry should have already been in- stated .to halt the lies. But the industry employs genius, and through clever manipulation and coopera- tive creation of phony figures, they have evaded that. And it's a bit late now to do much, but it could be important. From Day One the soda and 'beer industry has sought to wreck prospects for a throwaway ban in Michigan (they make far less profits on returnables) and they just might succeed unless some heavy en- lightenment is spread around or crops up of its own design. The enlightenment has to go to the masses. That's where the proposal will be defeated if it is. The masses are neither too smart nor too dumb. Most of all, they are very pliable and will generally be- lieve what they hear if they hear it enough. But in spite of all the mud being heaped on the proposal, one has the distinct feeling that just maybe people are starting to come around in some small way to court logic and reality. AS THE INDUSTRY SAYS, let's look at ,the facts, and then decide. y Tom Stevens RC plays prove uneven ---- By StSAN BARRY THE RESIDENTIAL College Players have opened their new theatre season with rather uneven performances of three one-act plays which runs through tonight at East Quad. The first, Chekhov's The Bear, present- ed the greatest degree of potential in the opening scene. Kathryn Adisman as Pop- ova struck an imposing figure with her, highly dramatic profile. and her initially forceful presence. Walter Bilderback as Looka was believably cowardly and servile. However, Adisman's problems began when her role called for a display of ver- satility. Where Popova's lines suggested the subtle implications of her romantic na- ture, Adisman remained stoic. Lines that were intended to show the ambivglence in Popova's character were spoken mechan- ically and seemed foreign. Seconds after she began to cry her face would snap back to a pose that was sorely lacking in anima- tion. IN STRIKING contrast was Bob Brown as Smirnov, an actor with one of the great- est capacities for high comedy this writer - - a.-~=------=- ___ has ever seen on campus. His facial and vocal inflections easily encompassed the wide range of emotions necessary to pro- ject the unpredictable nature of Smirnov's character. His lines were convincing, if not always accurate and, except for some excessive and heavy pacing, his perform- ance was extremely appealing. Brown offered his half of what should have been 'a well-matched and meaty brawl but this communication never came across on stage, mainly due to Adisman's rather one-dimensional portrayal. As a result the ending seemed contrived and irrational. Since the audience never saw the more tender side of Popova's na- ture it seemed absurd that she would sud- denly melt into passion for Smirnov. Playing With Fire by Strindberg, the sec- ond play, came off about as equally lop- sided. Margaret Low as Kirstin delivered her one-liners well; but when it was neces- sary to build any emotion her voice rose all too quickly to the point of hysteria. It was difficult to get a grasp of her real feelings. Roger Kerson as Axle spoke his lines too quickly and without nearly enough feeling. Consequently many of the dramatic ironies in his voice had a humorous rather than a compelling impact. When he ran off in the end I found myself wondering what happened. Although Kerson has a rather effective stage presence his character was just so removed that he seemed shallow. The best performance was given by An- drew Zerman as Kirstin's husband. His artistic inclinations were well represented in his intellectual attitude. His voice was well-controlled, wide - ranging and effec- tive. His movements were consistent and economical. WHEN Zerman imagined his life in an adulterous pose with her lover he viewed it through the proverbial artist's thumb, emphasizing his objectivity and ability to take a cold view of life as a series of com- position at an exhibition. Unfortunately thus play did not get bet- ter as it progressed but, as each layer of the characters' personality was stripped away, the plot became more and more ob- tuse. The final play, The Winetree Thing, was written and directed by Ann Arborite Tim Prentiss. The play began with a clever pre- mise, an enterprising young artist preying on the greed and fantasies of two antago- nistic women. It ended by insulting women, presidential candidates, God, and Shake- speare in that order. Although there were several cute lines the play ultimately didn't say anything that wasn't more provocative- ly explored in Hair. The actors, however, gave a much better performance than their roles deserved. Margaret Low was creative as Schwartz- koff and Tracy Juechter was a calculating Ruben. Jeff Wine enlivened Winetree with a likeable whimsy that nearly salvaged the play. In all, the presentations provided a few polished performances as well as some rather thought - provoking entertainment. o H RALPH! COME 6 OtJ OUTSIDE.' IT'S n SNOWING v lip 9 Y o o 6 C, tj U ll t? C> a 0 T U 00 0 6 o C you FOOL ! TNtS ISN'T v o v o SNOW" "41S 15 v v MXLEAR VALWUr a d 6 f{j n o ° CE E...TE Nt 0 o ~WT eAETO o ° G4 5tlNG? 0 0o d' O d !J 0 ~:. .. .., ._.___- Letters to the Daily bicycles To The Daily: IN RESPONSE TO the recent letter concerning the bicycle "threat" on campus, x x x - The poor girl who is so afraid for everyone's, safety is a sad case. Being a avid cyclist and one who uses his machine for transportation as well recrea- tion, as more of' should, (and -always being in control of my- self,) I resent being called a "menace". True, I don't waste any time between classes this way I find I can stay those ex- tra couple of minutes in class and still be on time for my next one, thus getting all I can from my overpriced education. But the girl's claim of my rid- ing being a danger, is from her own hang-ups. In all the time I've been riding here, I've had only two collisions, neither of whichtresulted in an injury. You see I watch where I'm rid- ing and ride defensebly because you never know what the dazed pedestrians will do next. to cite my two mishaps, caused by people who were looking right at me before it happened. The first was over by Waterman when a venerable professor stopped right in my path t6 watch me pass between two concrete parking dividors, luck- ily I was thinking enough for both of us and applied brakes to stop justas I hit him. At the time, he was apologetic. The only other time was this year near Ulrich'smwhen a young girl was crossing the street in front of me. Looking right at me again, she began to nervously dance so I knew she didn't know what she was going to do I began to put on my brakes again, but as you might know at the last minute, she decided to try to run in front of me and the outcome was the same as the first case. Again she was embarassly apologetic. These were my only mishaps and hopefully my last. My advice for our fearful co-ed is that she watch out for herself and walk calmly and I'll watch out for her too. R. John Godin October 18 nu kebugs To The Daily: I EXPRESSED my concern to someone that humans may destroy themselves with nu- clear technology (bombs or un- safe reactors), and that only insects would survive for they are less susceptible to the ef- fects of radiation than humans. He tried to console me that in- sects would evolve. At this point an image of a cockroach work- ing on a maniuscript en- titled "Metamorphosis II" came to mind. Kat Kradle October 19 11lcCart hy To The Daily: OVER THE LAST few weeks, I've heard that a number of people will be voting for Mr. McCarthy on ,"principle" - they claim that there is no ef- fective difference between Mr. Carter