Bottle
By DAN RUBEN
ITHE MICHIGAN STATE Leg-
islature now faces an oppor-
tunity to pass a major piece of
environmental legislation. Pro-
posals are being considered in
both houses of the legislature
which would require minimum
deposits on all beverage con-
tainers.
The use of throwaway cans
and bottles is a waste. The En-
vironmental Protection Agency
(EPA) testified that the nation-
wide use of returnables would
save the energy equivalent of
92,000 barrels of oil per day.
According to EPA, throwaways
use three times as much ener-
gy as returnables to produce the
same amount of beverage.
The use of throwaways creates
a senseless litter nuisance. In
Oregon, where the first bottle
bill was passed, the Oregon
State Highway Department con-
ducted surveys before and after
the passage of the bill. The pre-
bill surveys showed that 62 per
cent of highway litter by volume
consisted of throwaway bever-
age containers. Since passage,
the number of cans and bottles
littered on Oregon's highways
has dropped by 90 per cent. In
Michigan, the Department of
State Highways and Transporta-
bill
dumps on
disposables
tion says "avoidable litter"
costs Michigan taxpayers annu-
ally between $600,000 and $700,-
000.
ANOTHER BENEFIT of the
bottle bill should please infla-
tion-wary consumers. A 1974
study of Washington, D.C. liquor
stores showed beer in returnable
bottles averaging eighty - one
cents less per case than beer
in throwaways. At Campus Cor-
ners and Village Corners, each
Strohs returnable costs about
"Each returnable
costs about three cents
less than its throw-
away counterpart.
This is true simply be-
cause it is cheaper to
re-use a container than
it is to replace it."
three cents less than its throw-
away counterpart. This is true
simply because it is cheaper to
re-use a container than it is
to replace it.
The major criticism against
the bottle bill has been voiced
by elements of labor who fear
it will cost jobs. The evidence,
however, indicates that the op-
posite is true. The Oregon State
University determined that de-
spite some job losses, the Ore-
gon bottle bill resulted in a net
gain of 365 jobs. Dr. Myron
Ross, a Western Michigan Uni-
versity economist, has estimated
that enforcement of the bottle
law would result in a net gain
of more than 9,000 jobs in Mich-
igan.
Locally and statewide, the con-
sumer advocacy group, PIR-
GIM, is playing the major role
in mobilizing support and lobby-
ing for the bottle bill. This week,
PIRGIM has set up a letter-writ-
ing table in the fishbowl. It is
crucial to make your feelings
known to the legislators who will
decide the fate of this measure.
It is not a sure bet that the
legislature will act in the public
interest. We must each do what
we can to get the message to
our representatives.
PIRGIM IS ATTEMPTING a
massive letter-writing campaign
which extends beyond the fish-
bowl table. They would like
dorms, co-ops, fraternities, sor-
orities, apartment buildings, and
neighborhoods to organize large
scale letter-writing. If you would
like to help PIRGIM pass this
environmentally and economical-
ly sane proposal,. call Tom
Moran at 995-9450.
Dan Ruben is an'LSA senior.
Letters
to
The
Daily
941C 51C1143ZU1 Daitfj
Eighty-Six Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Tuesday, October 28, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
There's no place like home
T CAME AS no surprise last week
when the University's Off-Cam-
pus Housing Office revealed a one-
half per cent vacancy rate this year
for non-University housing facilities
on central campus.
Each January, the nomadic student
population is forced to start search-
Ing for next fall's apartments in the
hopes of finding relatively decent ac-
commodations. By late March or
early April, the pickings have already
become lean and students are often
forced to take apartments with high
rents, tissue-thin walls, and unrelia-
ble plumbing.
The housing shortage in the cen-
tral campus area has reached drastic
proportions over the past 10 years.
Last spring, University housing turn-
ed away 1,200 prospective dorm dwell-
ers - forcing them to find alternate
accommodations in the already-glut-
ted off-campus housing market.
TO COMPOUND THE seriousness of
the situation, the overall vacancy
TODAY'S STAFF
News: Barb Cornell,, Mitch Dimick,
David Garfinkle,, Keh Parsigian,
Sara Rimer,, Tim Schick, Jeff Sor-
ensen, Jim Tobin,
Editorial Page: Marc Basson,, Paul
Haskins, Debra Hurwitz, Ted Lam-'
bert, Jon Pansius, Tom Stevens
Arts Page: David Blomquist
Photo Technician: E. Susan Sheiner
rate for the entire city is only 1.5 per
cent - several percentage points be-
low what is considered a healthy rate.
Very low vacancy rates, such as the
one that exists in Ann Arbor, make
it possible for the landlord to pro-
vide high-cost, shoddy housing be-
cause demand is nearly equal with
supply.
Free enterprise being what it is,
there will most likely be no sponta-
neous solution to the housing prob-
lem. One would harIly expect a land-
lord to be suddenly smitten by al-
truism and lower rents just to give
students a break.
Obviously, the University Housing
Office should be exploring the possi-
bility of constructing additional
dorms or converting already existing
buildings into suitable student ac-
commodations. There are low-inter-
est federal loans available for this
purpose and providing additional
University housing would do much
to relieve overcrowded conditions in
the student slums.
THERE WAS some speculation last
year that the University might
buy the Ann Arbor Inn for possible
use as a dormitory, but this plan has
apparently fallen through.
It is now time that the University
started actively searching again for
new student accommodations before
overcrowding reaches even more se-
vere proportions. 0
Sadat appear to have been defeated,
in reality you are the victor.
To The Daily: You have succeeded in creating
IN VIEW OF Egyptian Presi- dissensions between Churchill,
dent Sadat's first visit to the the old man, and his allies, the
U.S. and all the praise he is Sons of Satan. Germany will win
likely to get from the White because her existence is neces-
House and the media ,as an sary to preserve the world bal-
"Angel" of peace, moderation ance. Germany will be reborn
and humanity, we believe a lit- in spite of the Western and East-
tle history is of value. It is well ern powers. There will be no
established that as a young of- peace unless Germany once
ficer Sadat was arrested and again becomes what she was.
convicted in Egypt during World The West, as well as the East,
War II as a German spy. His will pay for her rehabilitation-
German friends also publicized whether they like it or not. Both
later in European newspapers sides will invest a great deal of
his loyalty to Nazism and his money' and effort in Germany,
fervent Antisemitism. These in order to have her on their
facts are usually belittled as the side, which is of great benefit
"follies of a young nationalist." to Germany. So much for the
However, by 1953 Sadat was a present and the future.
member of the new Egyptian "As for the past, I think you
"revolutionary" ruling clique - made some mistakes, like too
the small group of officers head- many battlefronts and the short-
ed by Nasser who took over the sightedness of Ribbentrop vis-a-
country from the old "reaction- vis the experienced British dip-
ary" regime of King Faruq. lomany. But your trust in your
In September 1953, several country and people will atone
news agencies reported that Hit- for those blunders. You may be
ler was still alive. On the basis proud of having become the
of this report, a Cairo weekly, immortal leader of Germany.
"Al Musawwar," asked a num- We will not be surprised if you
ber of Egyptian personalities appear again in Germany or if
the following question: "If you a new Hitler rises up in your
wished to send Hitler a personal wake.
letter, what would you write to "Anwar al-Sadat"
him?"- The "Sons of Satan" is obvi-
Anwar Sadat was one of those ously a reference to the Ameri-
questioned. His answer publish- can people who were fighting
ed in "Al Musawwar" No. 1510 against Hitler Germany in World
on 18 September 1953, reads as War II. Sadat had to shed a
follows: number of skins since that let-
ter was written, to become first
"MY DEAR HITLER, a "friend" of the Russians, and
"I congratulate you from the now of the Americans. Has he
bottom of my heart. Even if you also changed inside?
mThe Lighter Side<>': : ::......:...
Poverty: It has its
political advantages
r.:................. .........}, :.::::::::, ".: D ic k W e st
By DICK WEST
WASHINGTON UPI - If you have read any bedtime stories
lately, you are aware that some are too outdated for today's kids
to relate to.
Here's one that has just been revised to make it more rele-
vant: "The City Mouse and the Country Mouse"
Once upon a time in a faraway land a country mouse went to
visit his cousin in the city.
"I can't hack it down on the farm any longer," the country
mouse said. "We field mice are as poor as church mice and often
go to bed hungry.
"I've heard there are many more opportunities for mice in
the city, particularly during garbage strikes. So if you don't mind
I'll crash in your pad until I can get it together."
"WELCOME, COUSIN," said the city mouse. "And you are
right about things being better here. No mouse in the city goes
hungry. Check in at the rodent assistance office and you'll be
given enough cheese to meet the minimum daily adult mouse re-
quirement."
"Good," said the country mouse, who promptly made a nest
out of shredded municipal bonds and went to sleep.
Several days later the city mouse broached his cousin and
said, "I don't enjoy bringing up unpleasant subjects, but hadn't
you better start looking for work?"
"Why should I?" said the country mouse, who was fast be-
come street wise. "I get by just fine on that free cheese they
give you here in the city."
"YEAH, BUT YOU don't want to spend the rest of your life
on welfare," said the city mouse.
"If you get a job and apply yourself diligently you can event-
ually work up to unemployment compensation."
Soon another country mouse came to the city. Then another
and another.
Finally the city mouse said, "I don't wish to alarm anyone
but the city is running out of rat cheese."
"That's ridiculous," squeaked the country mouse. "Now all
the fat cats are moving to the suburbs and taking their saucers
budget
To The Daily:
PRESIDENT FORD'S recent-
ly proposed "budget" for fiscal
year 1976 is of such an irra-
tional nature that I couldn't help
wondering as to what it actually
implied. As all who have read
it have realized, there is the
immense military spending sum
of 92 billion dollars in the fore-
cast. Even Ford can't help but
admit that this will increase the
aggregate deficit of the country
to a total of 52 billion dollars
by 1977. It is wholly inconceiv-
able to me why the head of a
capitalist state (or whomever
decides policy) would institute
such a destructive policy. First
of all, military spending is the
most unproductive way to sink
capital.
You would think that even the
most reactionary leaders of se-
curity - capitalistic states would
attempt, either really or at least
pragmatically, to straighten out
a country's finances in the face
of such an astronomical deficit.
Not Ford. He appears to be has-
tening what I feel to be the in-
evitable demise of capitalism.
Ford has probably resigned to
the real possibility that there is
no one to take over the capital
ship this time and is preparing
the country for impending so-
cial upheavals and complete
economic collapse.
HISTORICALLY speaking, . a
s t a t e witnessing desperate
times, becomes the victim - of
just so many possibilities: mili-
tary aggression (unfeasible
since this would certainly mean
the end-even the ruling class-
es aren't immune from nuclear
weapons), or else the formation
of a fascist police state consist-
ing of politico-military take-over
of key industries with the cre-
ation of a central, state-con-
trolled bank to develop produc-
tive industry. Consider the op-
tions-there aren't many left.
I welcome comment or criti-
cism on what I have said here.
Marc Jaffee
October 27
Letters should be typed
and limited to 400 words.
The Daily reserves the
right to edit letters for
length and grammar.
concert
To The Daily:
ANN ARBOR AUDIENCES
ought to be ashamed. How can
we expect excellent concerts
if we are so apathetic toward
the bands who come' here?
The other night Loggins and
Messina gave an outstanding
performance. They were vi-
brant: dancing around t h e
stage, playing long and hard,
begging the audience to partici-
pate. They did their best to
get the audience involved in
their music, but people just re-
fsed to respond. It was not un-
til the finale that people even
began to react.
After a lot of convincing,
Loggins and Messina gave us
two encores, and in our opin-
ion, two more than we deserv-
ed. Thank you, Loggins and
Messina, for your excellence.
We're only sorry the Ann Ar-
bor audiences don't know a
good thing when they hear it.
Lian Sher
Debbie Santavy
October 24
Scratch 'n suffer tickets
'Il
3 4
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2t
By JAY LEVIN -
HAVE RECENTLY given up a very expen-
sive habit. It's not smoking (I don't smoke),
nor pinball (never play. bad flipper control),
but lottery tickets.
Ever since Michigan inaugurated its highly
touted "instant game" three weeks ago, I
have done the -equivalent of flushing five dol-
lars down the john.
The day after its debut, I ran to a local drug
store and anxiously pushed my greenback
across the counter in exchange for a little
green, silver and red foil-covered ticket. Fol-
lowing the instructions, I fished in my pocket
for a coin and vigorously rubbed the foil from
the ticket. And presto! Revealed were two $2
rectangles, two $5 rectangles and two $10,000
rectangles.
According to the rules of the game, you
need three identical amounts to win that
prize.
"Aw, shoot," I thought to myself. One more
$10,000 rectangle and I wouldn't have to worry
about tuition anymore.
SO LIKE A spineless idiot, I went back the
next day, dollar clenched in hand, and pur-
chased another ticket. Out came the coin,
off came the foil and into the trash went an-
other loser.
Determined, I repeated the process three
more times, even going as far to change ven-
dors. But no matter where I threw away my
money, the losers kept coming.
The odds on winning the two buck prize,
(which can be claimed, along with five dollar
winners, at the place of purchase) is rough-
ly one in ten, and the chances of winning
larger prizes are considerably slimmer. The
way I look at it, in crude mathematical terms,
I'd have to buy five more tickets to win a $2
prize. At that rate I'd still be eight bucks in
the red.
The only advantages of this instant game is
tht now you can lose quickly instead of wait-
ing around for next week's drawing.
But what really changed my feelings on
state lotteries was an incident last Wednesday
that substantiated rumors over whether or not
these games are kosher.
NEW YORK GOVERNOR Hugh Carey dis-
banded that state's eight year old lottery after
a computer botched up and printed duplicate
tickets. Now the state is faced with the grue-
some task of refunding millions of ticket hold-
ers whose games were axed by Carey's move,
including the $250,000 Colossus drawing slated
for Halloween.
Serves you right, New York! Being a resi-
dent of that state, I've parted with a hefty
wad of cash in the past four years for lottery
tickets. Two years ago, I came up a winner
of five free tickets. Naturally, they were all
losers, too.
And the exploitation of these state lotteries
is getting out of control. This past summer,
we were treated to the televised final draw-
ink's of New York's million dollar sweepstakes,
direct from the ballroom of one of Manhat-
tan's ritzier hotels. The folks from Albany
managed to scrane up, of all people, Monty
JaTl (You can either ]Seel> the money in the
envelone or trade it for the box where Jay
Stewart is now standing) to emcee the extra-
1"'rnn7a At the end of the half hour, some
(iv7 n-,ens hbosewife danced merrily around
thQ million dollars she'd just won: gobs of
-n"ev l id ont for all to foam at the mouth
n w-h l Monty Hall flashed his toothpaste
smile for the television audience.
THE ULTIMATE GAME show, enough to
make vox unchuck! So I am renouncing my
faith in state lotteries and refuse to help fat-
ten up Michigan's budget anymore at a dollar
a shot. The only instant thing the instant
lottery has provided me with has been an in-
stant shortage of pocket money.
Jay Levin is a Daily staff writer.
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