TUU Michigan Daily Edited and managed by Students at the University of Michigan Saturday, June 1, 1974 News Phone 764-0552 O ATH IQ 6? AN)O SUCH THIJ ) -- Unfinished battle IT HAPJS -MlAT LOSA L4$1 HAT 'TO U}STa / Mr.. - UTI) HMY P AD. M V PUA&) IT HAPPENS M&TAT fAM'-{A 'FW %A ?TEFE. J UWV IHAPP )~S TA 1 t~~HAWE MAY P&,Ak) SAS A CCX kAH&E cT1J By JAMES WECIISLER r ,llE CITY COUNCIL'S rejection of "Intro 2" caused understandable dismay among the bill's supporters - including many who felt no private stake in its enactment but considered the isue tine of essential justice and tolerance. What mde the )itcame especially dishearten- ing tas the high t;pe for passage that prevailed for natty wieeks. In the aftermath of the 22-19 vote, some leaders of the Gay Activists expressed a sense of hetraval against the politicos who had im- plored them to avoid strident, exhibitionist tac- tics. They had generally heeded .such appeals, only to discover in the end that they had been victimized by the crude pressure operation of the bill's opponents. It is hard to quarrel with their mood of dis- chantment. They were, after all, the target of vulgar abuse and ridicule during many moments of the debate, and inevitably view the result as reenforcing stereotypes and stigmas that shadow their lives. But as one who long personally backed the beaten bill and was appalled by some of the rhetoric of its adversaries, I think the battle had some important affirmative aspects-and may have been the prelude to victory in the not very distant future. Possibly the city needed this year's frank, often fervid encounter sessions to pa'e the way. SEVERAL THINGS that emerge clearly from the conflict can afford little comfort to those who successfully scuttled this elementary bill of rights for avowed homosexuals. Throughout the decisive days of the cntreversy, it was the opposition that most often seemed on the defensive. Anyone who watched Matty Troy engage in his sputtering TV apologias for his position must have detected his unease as he explained that some of his best f-iends were homosexuals but that he just couldn't give "legit- imacy" to their "abnormality." Moreover, it seems beyond dispute that the key votes against the bill were cast by Councilmen who had wrestled with their consciences and fin- ally won. They cannot be very happy fellows. Consider these published remarks 'of one Coun- cilman, who chose to remain anonymous, on the eve of the vote: "If this weren't an election year, I'd stand on a rooftop and yell: 'I'm for gay rights.' But I'm getting tremendous pressure - from police- men, firemen, teachers, Catholics, Jews. I'm thinking of going for an amendment - maybe it's a foot in the door anyway." THIS VALOROUS character was never grant- ed the luxury of an amendment comprome be- cause Troy discovered he had the votes for re- jection without pursuing the amendment route. But there must be general agreement that the bill would have been enaced in a secret ballot. The faint-hearted "majority" 'hat barely car- ried the day was hardly an impressive contin- gent; a number of its members may discover that the gratitude of some constittents turns into contempt. It is not too hard to differentiate those who cravenly collapsed under fire from those who one way or another, voted authentic convictions. A far-reaching consequence of the recent events may be the new evidence they offered that the Roman Catholic Church is not a massive mono- lith on modern social issues. Meade Esposito, a devout Catholic as well as Brooklyn Democratic leader, spoke out forthrightly for the bill; Bronx chieftain Patrick J. Cunningham also backed it. There were many other Catholic voices aigned in favor of Intro 2, including Carter burden, who sponsored the original version 'hree-and-a-half years ago, the Rev. Louis Gigante, the only priest on the Council, and Paul O'Dwyer. The orthodox rabbinical councils that opposed the measure found themselves similarly at odds with influential institutions in the Jewish com- munity, such as the American Jewisn Committee. THESE DIVISIONS indicate the rising level of sensitivity and response to a movement that not too long ago deemed itself isolated and alone. It would be a misfortune if its leaders, granting their valid anger over the hypocrisy and coward- ice exhibited by some Council nembers, now felt they had to revert to no-win .trategies. Perhaps I am being too sanguine. Admittedly the headlines say that the City Council of enlight- ened New York has turned down a bill that would have affirmed nothing more revolutionary than statutory protection against bias in housing, pub- lic accommodations and jobs regardless of "sex- ual orientation." Comparable statutes have been enacted in many major cities in recent years. But the questions aired during these weeks have stirred reflection as well as frenzy. Is our society "healthier" when most homosexuals feel obliged. to hide their identities and lead clan- destine lives? Is it "healthier" when kids appre- hensively conceal homosexual impulses from their parents? Is it "healthier" when politicians prove their manhood by yielding to hysteria? Is it "healthier" when the Mayor weakly says tie will sign the bill if it is enacted but timidly stands mute while the debate goes on? These and other questions will not fade away. The next round could have a very dfferent end- ing. James Wechsler is Editorial Page Editor of the New York Post. Copyright 1974, The New York Post Corp. THE PICK OF DICK! THE BEST OF WEST! Hand-held cooler fans out OORDON ATCHESON JE"F DAY CHERYL PILATE .. JUDY RUSKIN .. JEFF SORENSEN BARBARA CORNELL JANET HARSHMAN ANDREA LILLY .. STEPHEN HERSH ... DAVID WHITING .... grilg Staff , REBECCA WARNER Editor MARNIE HEYN Editorial Director KEN FIN Arts Editor .. Night Editor Night Editor R. Night Editor ..,.. Night Editor RNight Editor Ass't. Night Editor Asst. Night Editor Asst. Night Editor . .Ass't. Night Editor By DICK WEST WASHINGTON (UPI) - With the approach of the air condi- tioning season, power compan- ies are warning of possible shortages and brownouts. Is there any way to keep the deihand for cool air from swamping the capacity to gener- ate it? With that question in mind, I paid another visit to The Futare Is Yesterday Foundation. "You're in luck," Sam Hark- enback, the manager told me. "You are just in time to wit- ness the first test of an air cooler designed to opera-e sith- out electric current." We adjourned to a laboratory where a number of tecrntcians in white smocks were making notations on clipboards. SEATED IN their midst was a man, bare from the waist up, with several electrodes attach- ed to his skin. In his r igh t hand he clutched what appear- ed to be a round piece of cardboard with a small wooden handle. "What's the reading?" l'ar- kenback barked. "Eighty-seven-point-six F a h- renheit," called on if t le tech- nicians. "Roger. Begin the ount- down." A technician naime-it' tger be- gan counting backward, When he reached zero, the iitan in the chair commenced vavi'n the objeot in his hand back a n d forth before his face. The technicians clustered ex- citedly around an instrument that was wired to the electrodes. After a few tense moments, Bar- kenback leaped in jubilation. "IT'S WORKING:" he shout- ed. "We've got it done to eigh- ty-seven-point-four. "We have proved it is pos- sible to lower the temperature by stirring the air with a small hand-held agitator," he said tri- umphantly. "Now imagine a room full of people, say in the auditorium of a church. Instead of being cool- ed by central air conditioning, each person has his own little agitator with which he c o o I s himself. "A funeral home or some such establishment likely would pro- vide the agitators free just for the advertising space." I don't know whether they will get all the bugs worked out in time for this summer's heat waves. But if energy shortages persist, agitator cooling may be the coming thing. TINKER'S DAM, ORE.-lrs. Millie Piercelobe was sentenc- ed to 30 days in jail today after police caught her husband wear- ing a shirt with a ring around the collar. Appearing before Chief Magis- trate Banebridge Flickelnurd, Mrs. Piercelobe claimed she was unfamiliar with the wash- day product that removes such rings. But the judge told her that ig- norance of detergents was no excuse. Mrs. Piercelobe came under suspicion after neighbors c o in- plained that the laundry hang- ing on her clothesline was less than "sunshine bright." Her husband was shadowed for two days before he loosened his necktie at a bus stop, en- abling police to see the inside of his collar. The shirt was seized as evidence. MARC FaLDMAN Sports Editor CLARKE COGSDILL.. . . . ....... t.Contributing Sports Editor GEORGE HAS' TINGS . ........... ... Executive Sports Editor JOHN KARLER.. . .... . .. , . ..... .. Associate Sports Editor ROGER ROSSITER. . ....... . . ............. Managing Sports Editor JOAN ADES .:... .. ........- ... ...,. Circulation Manager MARK SAN CRAINE Boiness Manager KAREN COPEL AND . ....... .................. ........ Display Manager EMILY HIRN ................... . . . , ......Ofic Ass' KATHY KELLER .......................... ..... .. ... O ice Ass'. CASSIE ST. CLAnIR .,.. .... . . ....... . ..... . ...,.. Classified Manager M UM T.LIEB.... .. . Photographer KAREN KASISAUSKI.T- - - --...- --..... ..:.. Potographer " Letters to the Daily c m ovement. Once more, we find roTcDsm:white, well-to-do women making To The Daily: gains for themselves at t e ex- TiE EXPLOITATION of do- pense of poor, black people. mestic workera by middle-class This non - caring about the well- women, as described in a re- being of anyone but themselves cent newspaper series (Ann benofanyne the melves Arbor News, May 15, 16) vivid- characterizes the white wn- Iy demoostrates the contradic- en's movement, and is well evi- tions and racism of the feminist (Continued on Page 51