Eighty"Six Years of Editorial Freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Looking back at Spiro: Gone but not forgiven Saturday, October 11, 1975 News Phone: 764-0552 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 Ford's plan: Cheap politics THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN is in full swing, and President Ford is demonstrating the enormous ad- vantages of incumbency in his latest set of political rambles through the countryside. Ford has advocated an extension of last year's income tax cuts, but has said he will veto such a measure un- less Congress agrees to put a lid on federal spending for next year. Congressional Democrats have re- acted with legitimate outrage to the proposal. Ford is asking them to buy a pig in a poke, and they know it. But Ford holds all the cards, includ- ing crucial access to public opinion. Using the exact reverse tactic that Harry Truman employed, Ford has asked the people to "throw out the reformist Congress" unless it com- plies with his plan. But the plan itself is clearly un- workable, at least to Congress. To ac- ceede to it would be to virtually sign away its sovereignty in budgetary matters. The fact is that the tax cut comes up well before the budget: if the budget lid Is passed. Ford will have a free rein to present a budget which strongly mirrors his own pre- ferences, AND FORD'S FISCAL preferences are all too well-known. Perhaps the most doctrinaire Midwestern con- servative since Warren Harding, the man would, in all likelihood, put the axe to social welfare items, leaving his pet, the Defense Department, in- tact. No, approving an unseen budget by agreeing to the spending lid is not the right course of action, and con- gressional leaders have wisely seen through the veil of rhetoric. The other question about the Ford plan is that the economics involved have been questioned by experts. While Ford may believe that the de- ficit on the federal budget will di- minish by- cutting federal spending, few economists share his opinion. Many mainstream students of the field have said that given the size of the proposed tax cut and the drop in government's spending, the move will help the economy recover, as Ford argues. TODAY'S STAFF News: Gordon Atcheson, Jim Finkle- stein, Jim Nicols, Sara Rimer, Jeff Ristine, Jeff Sorensen, Margaret Yao Editorial Page: Marc Basson, Paul Haskins, Tom Kettler, Linda Kloote, Tom Stevens Arts Page: David Weinberg Photo Technician: Pauline Lubens THEY CONTEND THAT a cut in spending will depress the econo- my far more than a cut in taxes, and that the plan is doomed to failure. Despite the lack of intellectual co- herence to his proposal, Ford still controls the access to public opinion more effectively than his opposition. Until such time as the House Ways and Means Committee comes up with an alternative, or can work out a compromise, Ford will once again point at Congress, as he did with the energy issue, and claim he has made his plan known while the men onthe Hill do nothing but attack him. The American people should recog- nize such demagoguery for what it is. It's a cheap shot, delivered in print and over the airwaves of the media. They should not be deceived, however, for Ford is not making a realistic proposal, he's simply trying to keep his job. Sports Staf BRIAN DEMING Sports Editor MARCIA MERKER ............ Executive Editor LEBA HERTZ Managing Editor JEFF SCHILLER Associate Editor CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Al Hrapsky, Jeff Liebster, Ray O'Hara. Michael wison NIGHT EDITORS: Rick Bonino, Torn Cameron Tom Duranceau, Andy Glazer, Kathy Henne- ghan, Ed Lange, Rich Lerner, Scott Lewis, Bill Stieg ASSISTANT NIGHT EDITORS: Enid Goldman, Marcia Katz, John Niemeyer, Dave Wihak DESK ASSISTANTS: Paul Campbell, Marybeth Dillon, Larry Engle, Aaron Gerstman, Jerome Gilbert, Andy Lebet, Rick Maddock, Bob Miller, Joyce Moy Patrick Rode, Arthur Wightman Business Staff DEBORAH NOVESS Business Manager Peter Caplan...............Finance Manager Robert F. Cerra ............Operations Manager Beth Friedman ..................Sales Manager David Piontkowsky.......Advertising Manager DEPA. MGRS. Dan Brinsa, Steve LeMire, Rhondi Mae, Kathy Mulhern, Cassie St. Clair ASSOC. MGRS. David Harlan, Susan Shultz ASST. MGRS. Dave Schwartz STAFF John Benhow, Colby Bennet, Margie De- Ford, Elaine Douas,.James Dykdema, Nine Edwards, Debbie Gerria, Amy Hartman, Joan Helfman, Karl Jenning, Carolyn Koth- stein, Jacke Krammer, Anna Kwok, Vicki May, Susan Smereck, Wayne Tsang, Ruth Wolman Editorial Staff GORDON ATCHESON CHERYL PILATE Co-Editors-in-Chief DAVID BLOMQUIST ........... . . Arts Editor BARBARA CORNELL .. Sunday Magazine Editor PAUL HASKINS ............. Editorial Director JOSEPHINE MARCOTTY Sunday Magazine Editor SARA RIMER...............Executive Editor STEPHEN SELBST................. City Editor JEFF SORENSON ..Managing Editor MARY LONG ..,.... Sunday Magazine Editor STAFF WRITERS: Susan Ades, Tom Allen, Glen Alerhand, Ellen Breslow, Mary Beth Dillon, Ted Evanoff, Jim Finklestein, Elaine Fletch- er, Stephen Hersh, Debra Hurwitz, Lois Josi- movich, Doc Kralik, Jay Levin, Andy Lilly, Ann Marie Lipinski, George Lobsenz, Pauline Lubens, Rob Meachum, Robert Miller, Jim Nicol, Cathy Reutter, Jeff Ristine, Tim Schick, Katherine Spelman. Steve Stojic, Jim Tobin, Bill Turque, Jim Valk, David Wein- berg, Sue Wilhelm, David Whiting, Margaret Tao. By DAVID RAVID "If I am known to raise my voice in criticism, it is be- cause I see danger in our na- tion's course. Because Amer- ica, like ancient Athens, can become foolish and corrupt; because a life of ease is not a life of fulfillment." Spiro "Ted" Agnew, Baltimore, 12- 11-69. On August 1, 1973 Vice Presi- dent Spiro T. Agnew was in- formed by the United States Justice Department that he was under investigation for possi- ble bribery, extortion and tax fraud. Soon after this notifica- tion, Vice President Agnew be- gan negotiations, aided by his lawyers, with the Justice De- partment over the conditions of a plea bargain, the prime con- sideration of which being a "no jail term" sentence. The bar- gain arrived at was one where, in return for Mr. Agnew plead- ing to one charge, the Justice Department pledged to drop the other pending charges and recommend leniency in the judge's sentencing. A public information official at the Justice Department, Mr. Robert Feldkamp, when recent- ly asked why Mr. Agnew had been given such a generous bar- gain replied, "Policy. What else can I do for you?" When questioned as to whether the reasons behind leniency recom- mendations were discussed, he stoically related, "No." ON OCTOBER -10, 1973 Mr. Agnew resigned the Vice Presi- dency and immediately went to Federal court where he pleaded nolo contendere (no contest) to tax evasion in 1967 while he was governor of the state of Maryland. He was sentenced to three years probation and a $10,000 fine payable in thirty days. Yesterday was the second year anniversary of that resig- nation and conviction. "How can you ask a man in the street to stand up for what he believes if his own elected leaders weasel and cringe? . . . America already has too many politicians who woulud rather switch than fight." Agnew, Montgomery, 11-29-69. The Justice Department then released a forty page memo of evidence which the state of Maryland could have prosecut- ed Mr. Agnew for. "It is not an easy thing to wake up each morning to learn that some prominent man or institution has implied that you are a bigot, a racist, or a fool." Agnew, Montgom- ery, 11-29-69. Yesterday, Jon Oster, Deputy Attorney General for the state of Maryland, said that no crim- inal proceedings had been " in- itiated against Mr. Agnew al- though Oster thought Agnew had an income tax liability to the state. Mr. Oster continued by saying that his "office only takes a prosecutorial role in rare cases." When asked if this was not a rare caseche circum- vented, "We only act upon the Governor's request." Mr. Oster then replied "yes" when asked if his office had not prosecuted as the result of an agreement with the Justice Department. T H E PROSECUTORS for Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, where the state crimes were alleged to have been committed, were not available for comment. "I believe that the people of the United States would like to know their Vice President for what he really is and what he really thinks . . . Ironic- ally, it is neither the greedy nor the malicious, but the 'I believe that the people of the United States would like to know their Vice President for what he really is and what he really thinks . . .' Spiro Agnew, Harrisburg, Pa., 10-30-69." self - righteous who are guilty of history's worst atro- cities." Agnew, Harrisburg, 10-30-69. "A raised eyebrow, an in- flection of the voice, a caustic remark dropped in the middle of a broadcast can raise doubts about the veracity of a public official . . ." Agnew, Des Moines, 11-13-69. "I am not asking for any immunity from criticism." Agnew, Montgomery, 11-29-69. David Ravid is a member of the Editorial Page staff. RFK coC By DAVID ROTHSCHILD THE QUESTIONS surrounding the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy were not laid to rest by the refiring of Sirhan's gun. The lead story in Tuesday's New York Times, "Experts Rule Out Second Gun in Rob- ert Kennedy Death", is mislead- ing and in marked contrast with the actual test results. It may well be indicative of a delib- erate attempt to suppress the truth. The group of forensic scien- tists who conducted the refiring, headed by Dr. Ralph Turner of Michigan State, did not "rule out" the possibility of a second gun. In fact, the bullet found lodged on Kennedy's neck, a key factor' in the second gun theory, was so badly damaged it could not possiblyhave been linked to Sirhan's gun. Beyond the implications of the ballistics test, there's sub- stantial evidence to suggest that the second gun theory is no myth., THE RFK AUTOPSY report as much as any single piece of evidence points up the basic contradiction between the facts and the government's account of the assassination. Former Los Angeles County Coroner Thom- as Noguchi - he's since been dismissed and subsequently cleared of any negligence in the "SECOND GUN" AT MLB TONIGHT rnspiracy theory still holds uP matter - found that all the gunshot wounds came from "right to left directions, and in an upward, back to front trajectory." From the deeply ingrained powder burns on the senator's ear Noguchi conclud- ed that the bullet that pene- trated Kennedy's brain was fired from a distance of "one inch and no more than three inches from the surface behind the right ear." Virtually every one of the witnesses to the murder placed Sirhan's gun between two and three feet in front of the sena- tor. The fatal shot was fired 1-3 inches under and behind Kennedy's right ear. Criminal investigators and witnesses both agree Sirhan was not in a position to do this. A SECOND MAJOR discrep- ancy centers around the num- ber of 22 caliber bullets recov- ered from the murder scene. A total of ten 22-caliber bullets were found. But Sirhan's gun could only hold eight. Reconstruction of the assas- sination scene sheds additional light: Kennedy is walking through the pantry shaking hands with well-wishers. Direc- ly to his right is the hotel mai- tre d', Karl Uecker. Behind Kennedy, at extremely close range, is Tane Eugene Ceasar, a private security man. Ceasar is part of a small external se- curity force brought into the hotel from the outside. Sirhan approaches Kennedy from the front. Shots ring out. Uecker grabs Sirhan and attempts to wrestle the gun from his hand. Sirhan continues to squeeze the trigger sending bullets flying into the crowd. Uecker testified that he de- finitely stopped Sirhan's gun from shooting in the direction of Senator Kennedy after the sec- ond shot. AN EYEWITNESS, Donald Schulman, saw the security man, Ceasar, fire his gun while standing directly behind Ken- nedy's head. Ceasar's gun was in a virtual blind spot behind the Senator's head while Sirhan was the center of attention. The official investigation into the Kennedy assassination itself was ridden with conspiratorial overtones. Out of the 199 wit- nesses and 2000 others who tes- tified to the authorities, Donald Schulman was never called. The Los Angeles Police Depart- ment and the County Prosecu- tor rationalized their failure to subpoena Ceasar because of his "inconsistent testimony". Central to the prosecution's case was their contention that' Sirhan was mad. The team of psychologists who testified at the trial did so under the pre- conceived notion thattSirhan acted alone. Hence they at- tempted to prove that he was psychotic. Many of the doctors never met with Sirhan. They formu- lated their conclusions together. In one instance, five of the doc- tors met in Defense Grant Coop- er's office library for more than six hours. A key piece of written testi- mony was submitted by Dr. Schorr. In his report on Sirhan, Schorr stated that there was a "striking similarity" between Sirhan and two case studies in- volving psychotics. What actu- ally happened was that Dr. Schorr copied verbatim pass- ages from the studies on "The Mad Bomber" and "Christmas Eve Killer", from a book by Dr. James A. Brussell. DR. EDUARD SIMSON, di- rector of San Quentin's phycho- logical testing program exam-. ined and tested Sirhan exten- sively during twenty weekly visits. He has stated in an affi- davit filed by Sirhan's defense (last year) that Sirhan was not mad. Dr. Simson was unable to complete his study of Sirhan. He was removed from the case by an assistant warden, and subsequently resigned in pro- test. Last August Dr. Simson held one of the most remark- able press conference of the century. He declared that Sir- han was "hypoprogrammed to shoot." Sharing his opinion was one of the prosecution's own doctors, Dr. Bernard L. Di- amond of the University of California at Berkeley. Simson and Diamond found that Sirhan was extremely sus- centible to hynosis. Sirhan suffered amnesia, and when hvpnotized could not remember firine the gun. The last thing he could remember was being with a girl in a polka dot dress. Several witnesses reported see- ing Sirhan with a girl in the hotel, but the police discounted their stories. Simson, who while at Heidelberg University, stud- ied graphology, the science of handwriting analysis, said Sir- han's notebook was filled with disjointed entries, many repe- titive. BUT IT WAS not composed in the free - flowing, uninhibited style of a-person in a trance, but in a carefully concocted man- ner. "Look at the 'P's," Dr. Simson says, "a natural writer doesn't disconnect his loops. The notebook is imitation writing, where you do a jerk at a time." If the secrets of the assas- sination are still locked in Sir- han's mind, then his life is in danger. This suggestion is bol- stered by the recent strange death of Ronald Wood, a former' fellow inmate of Sirhan's at San Quentin. In 1974, Wdod asked Playboy Magazine for a reported $30,000 in return for what he called an inside ac- count of a conspiracy learned from Sirhan. Simson adds that "Over a long period of time, in a secure setting, Sirhan's defensive sys- tems might loosen. There are "Though the L. A. coroner said powder burns indicated the fa- tal shot could not have been fired more than three inches from Kennedy's ear. But virtually all of the wit- nesses placed Sirhan between two and three feet in front of thesen- ator." things he might remember now. "In September 1974 Wood was quietly removed to the Ne- vada State prison in Carson City. Several days after the transfer Ronald Wood was stab- bed to death. Given the range and depth of evidence to the contrary it seems that the Times did the nation a grave disservice in so hastily discounting the sec- ond gun theory. T H E SUPPRESSED docu- mentary. "The Second Gun", will be shown tonight in Aud. 3 of the MLB at 7 and 9 p.m. David Rothschild is an LSA junior. Women stand up to sex bias 1' 'oTfrWORIRy',I FANYTJRING M4PPCNS, 'LL KNOW'" .REV4~A By KAREN THOMAS EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT the "Fleming Follow" was, right? Maybe not. Since college den- erations change so quickly, and Ann Arbor is the kind of town where the only permanent fact of life is that most of us leave, few people remember the "Ad Hoc Committee Concerned that President Fleming Doees Not Meet With Women". In 1972, its members kept vigil outside his office, tabulating the president's visitors by sex. The results: out of 124 visitors, only 21 were fe- male. Similar and more serious ex- amples of sex discrimination led to a formal complaint against the University. The U. S. De- partment of Health, Education and Welfare ultimately ruled that the U of M must take af- firmative action to end discrim- ination against women, or face loss of $3.5 million in federal funds. T H R E E YEARS later, the "Fleming Follow" has tak- en on new significance. Now, the Commission for Women, a vital part of the original affirm- ative action olan, reports direct- ly to President Fleming. "In the beginning, many peo- ple thought the Commission was iust a son to HEW," notes as- sistant chairwoman Barbara Murnhv. "Thev were auite sur- prised at the nnmber of women who stood n and said, 'Wait a mn'h"te. You've got to listen to "There's never been a headline in the paper saying the Com- mission did this or that, but the cumulative effect has made a powerful impact on the status of women at the University." Ms. Murphy explains that the Commission, as an advocacy or- ganization, "looks at everything in fairly specific terms - how does this particular University policy affect women?" In par- ticular, the Commission has been active in the areas of job postings, grievance procedures, and individual file reviews to equalize salaries. "Prior to 1972, when the Uni- versity began to post all job vacancies, you might never know about an opening," Ms. Murphy notes. "Even though you were qualified, you never got a crack at it. Now, women at least know what kinds of jobs are being filled at the Univer- sity. This should help open up the system." AND WHAT IF a woman feels she has been wrongfully passed over for a posted job? "Origin- ally, the University's grievance procedure did not apply to any cases of racial or sex discrimi- nation," observes Ms. Murphy. "It was merely a management review of management proce- dures. As long as they followed their own rules, that was good enough." Now, an independent panel makes recommendations on the merits of each case. The Commission also review- ed the files of all non-academic employes to make sure that wnmpn ~nP~ivrd ,l nav for. THE COMMISSION'S major failure, according to Ms. Mur- phy, is that the University has failed to increase its hiring of women at upper levels. "Where are all the women PhD's the University has grad- uated?" she asks. "Aren't these women qualified to hold admin- istrative positions? The only thing we can do is keep beating the University over the head with its own published figures that show no progress to date." Ms. Murphy is also concerned about the future. "I'm very worried about the 'last-hired- first-fired' syndrome, especially in view of the current job mar- ket. I'm afraid that the employ- ment gains women have made and they're not large, will be wiped out." TYPICALLY, THE Commis- sion translates concern into ac- tion. Ms. Murphy notes, "We are very interested in finding out what the University feels are its commitments in that area. We want to develop a pro- cedure whereby those gains will not be lost if there are budget cuts." "I think most people are not aware that a great many of the policy changes that have oc- curred in the past few years were at the suggestion or initia- tion of the Commission, or un- der its prodding. But they do know that there have been changes, and they understand the reasons for those changes and they know that there's something going on out there. Contact your reps-- Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem), 253 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep), 353 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515.