THE Summer Daily Vol. LXXXI If, No. 65-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Saturday, August 18, 1973 Ten Cents Eight Pages Cites past public support Schlesiger clals Nixon could get approval for Viet bombi'gs WASHINGTON () -- Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger claimed < .yesterday that President Nixon pro- b bably could get congressional and popular support to resume bombing if North Vietnam launched a new all-out military push against the F s south. UFW mourners Traffic is brought to a virtual standstill in Delano, California yesterday as thousands of United Farm Workers (UFW) and sympathizers march through town mourning the death of UFW member Nagi Daifullah. Daifullah was killed Tuesday during a fight with police. BS case where crime maypa Such a move, Schlesinger said, would be viewed in the United States as a gross violation of the Vietnam peace agreement negotiated last winter. He added: "It would be ill-advised of Hanoi to make a mis- judgment in that regard." A WARNING to this effect was given North Vietnam by President Nixon after the U. S. bombing of Cambodia was ended Wednesday, closing out the United States' combat role in Indochina. Schlesinger told a news conference it appears likely that Hanoi intends to stick by the agreement at least by refraining from a new massive attack against Sai- gon's forces. But he said the cutoff of all U. S. bomb- ing was "an erosion" of the U. S. position that could lead the North Vietnamese to think they had a "free ride" for such a move. "THAT IS an erroneous inference and we want to make it clear that it would be a mistaken inference," Schlesinger said. Schlesinger said talks are continuing with Thailand toward reduction of U.S. forces still in that country and American military interest is now certain to shift to other areas, notably the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commitment. But "the United States will leave suffic- ient air power in Southeast Asia to deal with a recrudescence of overt North Viet- namese aggression," he said, adding that these forces would be subject to rein- forcement as the situation demanded. HE RULED OUT any U. S. intervention with ground troops, saying American ac- tivity would be limited strictly to the air. The United States will continue to fur- nish military aid to Cambodia and non- military aid to Laos, he said, and in Cambodia, it forsees the possibility of working with a "unity government made up of elements of opposing factions. Schlesinger said that his confidence that Congress and the U. S. public would back a resumption of bombing was based to some degree on support given to South Vietnam when it faced a maximum inva- sion from the north in the spring of 1972. HE SAID he felt this was true even though the United States no longer has any forces of its own in Vietnam and no priso- ners known to be held by the Communist side, as was the case last year. Schlesinger said he was not aware of any "broad program" by Saigon to train what a questioner described as "merce- naries" of ethnic Cambodian descent to fight in Cambodia against the Khmer in- surgent forces. Reports from Saigon have said South Vietnam was planning to send as many as 10,000 troops of Khmer ancestry to fight in Cambodia. Some areas of the Me- kong Delta are populated largely by ethnic Cambodians. By JACK KROST Most city residents realize that bicycle theft is a problem in Ann Arbor. Few, however, are aware of the dimensions this crime has assumed locally. According to police reports, bicycle thefts in Washtenaw County have in- creased by more than 50 per cent since 1967. In 1972 reported and confirmed thefts rose to a total of 1,099. RECENTLY DISCLOSED FBI statistics indicate Ann Arbor seems to be following national trends in bicycle theft. An FBI report shows an increase in thefts by 57 per cent between 1966 and 1971, with a 30 per cent hike in 1971 alone.- Locally a sharp rise in total value of property lost, probably caused by the con- temporary popularity of ten-speed bikes, has shot the losses taken by unfortunate owners from under $21,000 in 1967 to over $96,000. When bicycles disappear, optimistic own- ers may make their way to the city police station to report the theft. However, police statistics show an almost non-existent re- trieval rate for stolen bikes, "I WOULD -estimate that in 1500 re- ported thefts, there may be about a half dozen apprehensions," says Lieutenant Hill's estimate is borne out by statis- tics on retrieved bicycles. In 1972 only 12 of the 1099 bikes reported stolen were "cleared by arrest or exception," ac- cording to the police department's annual report. City Police Chief Walter Krasny is one of the few people still smiling in the face of this adversity. Krasny claims that theft percentages are padded by an increase in total ownership of bicycles. Of discourag- ing theft retrieval rates, he retorts, "There have been cases where bicycles were returned, but no arrests were made." BOTH HILL and police Sergeant Harold Tinsey profess ignorance of whether most city bicycle theft is done individually or by gangs. Tinsey cites a lack of statistical data on the subject. Krasny, however, claims, "The type of people that we catch are organized groups that steal bikes and then sell them in other communities," Despite criticism from some quarters, Krasny insists, "I don't see how they can say we aren't doing our job. It's the care- lessness of the owners that is most often at fault, by not'locking their bicycles." THE POLICE FORCE assigns no spe- cialists to the problem of bicycle theft. "Everybody has a part of the respon- sibility," Tinsey claims. Police say the theft problem is partially caused by the city's bicycle registration rate. The City Clerk reports the number of bicycles currently registered in Ann Arbor at 17,939. No figures are available on the total number. of non-registered bicycles. Hill remarks, "I won't say anything about the probability of recovery of li- censed bikes, but I will say that the chances of recovery are a hell of a lot better than if the bike is not licensed." "THE MAJORITY of bikes that are re- covered are licensed bikes that were abandoned," Hill says. See BIKE, Page 5