sumer Daily
Summer E-dition of
TIE MIiiCrIGAN DAILY
Edited and managed by students at the
University of Michigan
Saturday, June 2, 1973 News Phone: 764-0552
eturn returnables!
OCAL MONEY-MINDED merchants have succeeded in
temporarily delaying this city's nonreturnable bot-
le ordinance, originally scheduled to begin yesterday. As
e look out of our office windows, we view the scattered
roken-glass rubble on the streets and sidewalks, and
re dismayed that some individuals wish to forsake the
eeds of the environment in order to keep their pockets
ull.
A temporary restraining order was issued Thursday
y Circuit Court Judge Edward Deake in response to a
lass action suit filed by several merchants charging
hat the bottle ordinance, which in effect bans no-
eposit container sales, denies local retailers "equal pro-
ection under the law" as guaranteed by the state and
ederal constitution.
HIS IS ABSURD! Ann Arbor's Nonreturnable Bever-
age Container Ordinance is merely one of many
unicipal regulations which apply to this city and only
his city. Ann Arbor also has tax laws, zoning laws, build-
ng regulations, ad infinitum which are all legal and
et different than those in other cities. They are de-
igned for the benefit of this city: the container ordi-
ance was passed primarily to decrease litter in this
ity. A secondary reason was to conserve energy used in
he production of throw-away bottles.
We thus believe th'at the merchants are wrong in
heir claim of "unenual nrotection" under the law.
Furthermore, the no-deposit bottle law will not pre-
ent them from carrving popular brands sold only in
on-returnable containers. They can, as long as they
harge a minimum of five cents deposit on each con-
ainer, which would be refundable upon return. They
ould also of course. be "stuck" with the task of re-
yeling the returned unusable container, but it is only
roper that everyone does his or her part to curb en-
ironmental litter, and this includes merchants.
[T IS TRUE of course that providing consumers with an
incentive to return beverage containers, such as a
ickel or a dime per bottle, will not necessarily elimi-
nate litter. Yet, it is very likely that the amount of lit-
er will decrease by some percentage under this law.
As the piles of rubbage increase outside, we inside
an only hope that the class action suit will be dismissed,
or any decrease in litter at this time is a valuable one.
International trade legislation:
Congressional revision needed
By MARVIN ESCH
State Congressman
HVIE NEARLY weekly headlines
about "the dollar crisis," t h e
soaring price of gold, and infla-
tion here at home emphasize t he
importance of legislation now pend-
ing before the Congress to revise
U.S. trade legislation. There is
perhaps no bill pending before the
Congress which will have such a
long term effect on our economy,
our prices, our employment rate,
and our standing in the world com-
munity as the trade bill, since an
enormous amount of our production
is involved in export trade while a
large part of our consumption is
of imported goods.-
It, therefore, seems appropriate
to discuss some of the background
and issues which will be resolved
in the Congress on trade in the
next few months. First, it seems
obvious to me that we need to com-
pletely rethink our attitudes toward
international trade. Our attitudes
and our policies; as well as the
policies of most other nations,
were formed following the Second
World War when the United States
was really the only center of eco-
nomic power in the entire world.
British so
By DICK WEST
I'M A STRONG admirer of t he
British system of government,
one reason being that it produces
swch good, clean, wholesome scan-
dals.
British officials are far too pas-
sionate for their own good, of
course. They try to curb their libido
by drinking great quantities of tea
and keeping their houses frightfully
inderheated. But every now and
then desire gets the upper hand.
Typically, the Lord Privy Seal
becomes involved with a call-girl
ring. His Piccadilly peccadillos are
exposed and he is obliged to re-
sign. By the time you can s a y
Piccadilly, the scandal subsides.
It's all blessedly simple and
straightforward. No need for end-
less investigations by grand juries,
committees of Parliament and
Scotland Yard.
AND NO TYING the government
in knots. The Prime Minister mere-
ly appoint a new Lord Privy
Seal and soon the Lord Privy Seal
Now there has been a diffusion of
economic power - with the Euro-
pean Community and Japan play-
ing dominant roles and numerous
other countries, such as Russia and
China, which were previously iso-
lated from the mainstream of
world trade, now entering into the
marketplace.
ALL OF THIS means that t h e
United States no longer retains its
dominance and its favorable bal-
ance of trade. Policies which were
acceptable when the rest of the
world economy was weak now pose
threats to U.S. economic health.
Non-trade barriers in other na-
tions, in particular, cause great
difficulty for American products,
especially farm produce which
makes up a high percentage of our
exports. Present trade law pro-
vides little to our trade negotiators
in the way of bargaining chips to
help force reduction of those oar-
riers. Clearly this deficit must be
corrected.
Some have reacted to new trade
dynamics by urging that the Unit-
ed States withdraw from the in-
ternational marketplace and turn
inward by imposing large barriers
to imports (thus inviting o t h e r
nations to impose large barriers
against our exports). In my view
such legislation would be extreme-
ly shortsighted and would, in be
end, lead to higher prices and few-
er choices for the American con-
sumer and a stagnant economy.
On the other hand, it is clear-
ly necessary to take further ac-
tions to protect American industry,
and American workers, from unfair
competition from abroad and num-
erous provisions directed at this
goal should be included in any
final bill.
ENORMOUS CHANGES will con-
tinue to take place in the inter-
national marketplace whether the
United States tries to influence
them or not. Clearly it is to our
advantage to work with those chan-
ges in an effort to obtain the beat
possible position for the American
economy. Hopefully tis year's
trade legislation will provide us
the vehicle to secure that position.
Marvin sch is U.S. Cow-
gressman for the second district of
Michigan.
andal: No Watergate
is back doing whatever it is a
Lord Privy Seal does. When
be isn't philandering.
U.S. officials, by contrast, have
almost no propensity for hanky
panky. Which explains why they
get caught up in far more deplor-
able scandals of the Watergate
type.
The Watergate conspirators rent
some rooms in a downtown morel.
An ideal spot for assignations. So
what do they do? They fill it up
with bugging equipment.
Instead of calling call girls, they
are bent on eavesdropping on Lar-
ry O'Brien. This certainly doesn't
speak well for their sense of ini-
quity.
Not only are most U.S.- govern-
ment officials lackluster; they ap-
parently also lack lust.
IF PRESIDENT Nixon's top
aides had been preoccupied with
sex, the way British officials are,
they wouldn't have had their
minds on political espionage. And
the Watergate affair would never
have occurred.
But let us not judge our officials
too harshly on this point. Let us not
blame them entirely for failing to
compromise themselves through
promiscuity.
The lamentable lack of high lev-
el debauchery in Washington may
be partly caused by the absence
of opportunity.
I am told by a corresnondent for
Reuters, the British news agency,
that call girls in London are a good
bit more accommodating than
their counterparts in the U.S. cap-
ital.
Many of the local call girls now
refuse to make house calls. Give
them a ring and you leave your
number with an answering service
which says, "Don't call us; we'll
call you."
IF AN OFFICIAL is not con-
fronted by temptation, he can't
very well yield to it. And the next
thing you know, he's in serious
trouble.
Dick 'West is a writer for United
Press International.
T46 TUNN4EL AT 146EIDC OF -rHESIC-MT
Bringing the law
down on polluters
By FRANK KELLEY
State Attorney General
o YOU WOULDl ike to be the Attorney General. Michigan law offers
you a unique opportunity to act as one.
The Environmental Protection Act of 1970 provides for a "private
attorney general" in environmental matters.
The act allows any person or association to bring a legal action in,
the appropriate circuit court of the state against the state, any political
subdivision of the state, any person, partnership, corporation, association,
organization or other legal entity "for the protection of the air, water,
and natural resources of the State of Michigan."
As a "private attorney general," you must initially make a showing
in court that the conduct you are challenging "has or is likely to pol-
lute, impair, or destroy the air, water or other natural resources"
of the State of Michigan.
THE CONCEPT OF a "private attorney general" was enacted by
the Legislature, with my full support, to overcome the judicial doctrine
of "Standing to Sue." This doctrine, as applied to environmental cases,
required that a person had to show that they themselves had suffered
or will suffer some personal economic or legal injury. Traditionally the
courts would not hear cases from organizations or individuals who
sought only to vindicate their own value preferences through the
judicial process; only economic losses were considered valid;
While "Standing to S e" is an important doctrine in the law, a
regrettable by-product of the doctrine - as applied to environmental
cases - was that a person or organization with an interest in environ-
mental matters, no matter how long-standing the interest and no
matter how qualified the person or organization was in evaluating
the problem, did not have "Standing to Sue" merely because of that
interest.
Besides bringing suit, under the Environmental Protection Act of
1970, a "private attorney general" may seek intervention in any ad-
ministrative or licensing proceeding which involves the pollution, im-
pairment or destruction of the environment.
Frank Kelley is the state Attorney General,