Thursday, June 20, 1974
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Rodin o says tape gap due
solely to manual operation
WASIINTVION ' -Chairman Peter
Rodino said a demonstration for the
House Judiciary Committee yesterday
showed that the 18-minute buzz on a
Watergate tape "can't possibly" have
been caused by inything but hand opera-
tioin.
The New Jersey leiscrot said a staff
aide made t-he demonstration on a Uher
5000 tape recorder. It was the same kind
that produced the gap and buzz on the
tape of a dune 20, 1972, conversation be-
tween President Nixon and his former
chief of staff, It KI llldemian.
"IE SHOWED us how you can't pos-
sibly except by manual operation pro-
duce this sound, this buzz," Eodiao told
newsmen.
A report by a panel of experts also
concluded that the buzz could not have
been produced by a faulty tape recorder
rather thanh a n d operation, but the
President's lawyer, Jics St. Clair,
said the conclusion could not be that
absolute.
Special Impeachment counsel John
boar said the committee does not have
an FBI report on who iight have erased
the tape and said there is no assurance
that report will be completed and de-
livered before the impeachment inquiry
concludes.
AFTER THE morning session, two
members said the panel has an affidavit
with evidence that President Nixon de-
cided to fire Special Prosecutor Archi-
bald Cox about 10 days before he ac-
tually did.
A Democrat who declined to be named
said the affidavit from former Atty.
Gen. Elliot Richardson quoted Nixon as
saying that former Vice President Spiro
Agnew had resigned-"now we can fire
Cox."
A Republican niember also confirmed
that the conmiiie had the aiffidavit.
Agnew resigned Oct. 10 and Cox was
fired Oct. 2(1.
After the Cox presentation, most mem-
bers indicated the facts did not make
it clear whether the firing could be con-
sidered part of the cover-tip.
REP. GEORGE Danielson 1)-Catif. )
said "I'm more convinced than ever
that it was an aggravated continuation
of the cover-up."
But most members who would com-
ment said the staff gave them a sum-
mary of publicly known facts about the
firing and said each congressman would
have to make his own judgment.
Rep. Charles Wiggins (R-Calif.) at
first said "all the evidence is to the
contrary," that the firing was not part
of the cover-up. But under questioning
he later said, there was no direct evi-
dence either way.
See RODINO, Page 10
Latter day alchemist-
Floyd Wallace demonstrates his methods of making gold from elements such as copper, aluminum and even clay. Using
an "electron gun", the 55-year-old native of Leslie, Michigan adds or subtracts electrons from the elements' atoms, convert-
ing them into gold or any other substance, he claims.
/ An expensive road
to some peace of mind
By ANDREA LILLY and
DAVID WHITING
The cost of peace of mind and inner
tranquility like o t h e r more material
necessities of life has aparently also
suffered from the astronomic inflation
rate during the past year.
The fee for a course in Transcen-
Reents to vote,
on 'U' famlly
uni rent hike
A proposed five per cent increase in
the cost of University - operated family
housing tops a relatively noncontrover-
sial Board of Regents agenda this month.
The Regents will discuss the rent hike
during today's session scheduled for 2
p.m. in the Administration Bldg. Action
on the request should come tomorrow.
IF APPROVED, the increase will raise
rents in the 1,700 family units from
their $114-200 range to approximately
$120-210 beginning on September 1.
The additional money will be used to
offset increased maintenance costs as
well as other capital and operating ex-
penses, according to University Housing
Director John Feldkamp.
Also included in the proposal is a pre-
mium rent clause which would automat-
ically raise the rent of families living in
the housing for more than three years.
The increase would total 10 per cent
of the rent and would be assessed each
year after the third.
THE PROVISION, effective January
See REGENTS, Page 10
dental Meditation-the ancient art of
mind relaxation-has jumped nearly 50
per cent in the past year.
Now, the four-day course, offered in
Ann Arbor only by the Student Inter-
national Meditation S o c i e t y (SIMS),
costs $65 for students and $125 for every-
one else.
WHILE TM is a religious experience
that can only be taught on a face-to-face
basis, according to SIMS chairman Doug
Daller, it has also become a case study
in the economics of inflation.
Although Daller is hesitant to explain
financial operations of SIMS, he did dis-
cuss some of the reasons for the hefty
increase in course fees.
The money is used to cover telephone
bills, teacher salaries, printing of 2,500
copies of a newsletter, rent for lecture
rooms, offices, and hotel accommoda-
tions, he says.
ALL OF THESE are very worldly
items that cost dollars and cents-con-
siderably more of both than in 1973.
Daller adds that all funds received
here are sent to the SIMS national office
in Los Angeles, where a large chunk
is taken out to pay other expenses. The
remainder is returned to local chapters.
Ann Arbor has just two full-time TM
"teachers" assisted by a score of volun-
teers. Daller confided that his salary
and that of David Coffinger, the other
teacher, varies but can total more than
$400 each per month-if the classes fill
to capacity.
HOWEVER, Daller says that the high
fees tend to serve a dual purpose by
giving beginning TM students more in-
centive to stick with the course because
of their large financial investment.
Exactly what TM gives to ,individuals
is difficult to say because each person
experiences its effects differently, but
Daller claims, despite the high price
tag, most students find the techniques
well worth the cost.
In addition, once a month a student
can come in to the school for a "free"
check up to make sure he or she is
meditating properly and that everything
else is "okay."
THE COURSE, however, may be able
to save many students some money in-
directly since they are encouraged to
take no drugs-legal or otherwise-for
at least two weeks before starting the
program.
Govt. charges railroad
with age discrimination
WASHINGTON (1 - In the largest
age discrimination suit ever filed, the
Labor Department asked a federal court
yesterday to award more than $20 mil-
lion in back pay to 300 present and for-
mer management employes of the Balti-
more-Ohio and Chesapeake-Ohio rail-
roads.1
The suit accused the railroads of "dis-
charging, refusing to hire, demoting and
otherwise discriminating" against em-
ployes in violation of the 1967 Age Dis-
crimination in Employment Act.
IT IS ILLEGAL to discharge workers
between the ages of 40 and 65 years old
simply because of their age.
The two railroads merged in 1970 to
form the Chessie System but retained
their separate corporate identities.
In its suit filed in U. S. District Court
in Baltimore, the government cited pen-
sion plan revisions, made after the mer-
ger, which lowered the mandatory re-
tirement age for management employes
from 65 to 62.
SOLICITOR OF Labor William Kil-
berg, who filed the suit, contended in an
interview that this was merely a device
for getting rid of older employes to cut
payroll costs and thus was illegal under
the age discrimination law.
Kilberg said this was the first com-
plaint to take issue with an early man-
datory retirement plan and added that
a court ruling favorable to the govern-
ment could affect similar plans in use
by other firms.
The government asked the court to
order the merged railroad to rehire
former workers who the government
contends were unfairly discharged, the
reinstatement of demoted employes to
their original positions, and the payment
of at least $20 million in back wages plus
6 per cent annual interest.