1Nednesday, July 16, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three R eagan campaign organization for 1976 announced, PALLBEARERS carry the flag-draped cdsket of Ypsilanti policeman Douglas Downing who was killed Friday afternoon in a bank robbery in Ypsilanti. Downing was the first Ypsilanti police . offier killed in the line of duty. Over 400 law enforcement officers from Michigan and Ohio - attended the services. Police atend funeral of ain Ysiant officer By STEPHEN SELBST Special To The Datty WASHINGTON-Former Cali- fornia Gov. Ronald Reagan all but formally admitted he will be a candidate for the Repub- lican presidential nomination in 1976 by authorizing a committee to be formed to raise funds on his behalf. Called "Citizens For Reagan," the committee is headed by Sen- ator Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.), who immediately challenged Presi- dent Ford to enter the presi- dential primaries to battle Rea- gan for the nomination. THE STATED purpose of the committee is to convince the ex- movie star-turned-politician to seek the nomination and to raise money so that if Reagan makes a bid, resources will be avail- able. Joining Laxalt on the com- mittee are former Gov. Louis Nunn of Kentucky, John Sears, a Washington attorney who worked on the 1968 Nixon pres- idential campaign, and a for- mer GOP national committee- woman from California, Stan- hope Ring. A Nebraska insurance mag- nate, George Cook, and a re- tired conservative congressman, HI. N. Gross of Iowa, round-tsut the group. IN THE CROWDED press conference held at a fashisn- able downtown hotel, Laxalt admitted the committee will not have much trouble convincing Reagan to hid for the nomina- lion. "The likelihood is nine on a scale of ten that he'll run," Laxalt said. Citizens For Reagan needed the former governor's consent in order to file the necessary papers with the Federal Election Commission certifying the legit- imacy of the committee. Speaking of Reagan as if his candidacy w a s already an- nounced, Laxalt prained Presi- dent Ford, hut said that the ex- matinee idol Reagan "would bring to the job independence needed to make the changes necessary in American life." THE PROBLEM with Ford, Laxalt claimed, is that "for too long he has been part of the Washington scene. We question sincerely whether he has the degree of independence to do the job." In issuing the call to Ford to run in the presidential primaries, Laxalt noted that the chiaf ex- ecutive has never waged i na- tional campaign. The Nevada senator contended that if Ford ran in the primaries and won, this would make him a stronger, more legitimate candidate for the Republican party. Speaking again of the Reagan candidacy, in the present tense, Laxalt claimed the conserva- tive's chances to win the nom- ination are good. HE COMPARED the situation to February, 1972, when Maine Senator Edmund Muskie led all other candidates for the Demo- cratic presidential nomination by a wide margin. Ford, Laxalt contended, cur- rently enjoys the same popular- ity in the polls as Muskie did, adding that Reagan's popularity is much better now than George McGovern's was at that time. "When you consider he's been out of office for a long time, he's doisg well. His popilarity rating has stayed right up there at absaut 20 per cent for two years," Laxalt claimed. LAXALT gave his opinion that that Reagan is "40-60 on the short side" to win the nomina- tion. He buttressed his predic- tions saying, "When you have a Ronald Reagan-type candi- date, yoti can't poreclude him from turning this thing arouod." A s k e d by re'orters what would make a Reagan presi- dency different from the Ford administration he just finished lauding, Laxalt said American foreign policy "would come un- der a complete re-examination." He admitted however, that Rea- gan has travelled little overseas, has met no heads of state re- cently and has no plans to do "Like any other inexperienced person, he would rely on getting good advice," the silvered-hair- ed solon told the press corps. LAXALT also told rep)orters "I had no indication from Gov. Reagan that he is interes ed in the vice-presidency." By PAULINE LUBENS Nearly 150 police patrol cars blocked two city streets yesterday as some 350 law enforcement representatives attended an afternoon funeral service for Ypsilanti officer Douglas Downing, who was fatally shot while on duty last week. The officers, some of whom had come from as far as Toledo or Kent, Ohio, assumed military- like stances in front of the Muehlig Funeral Chapel at 403 S. 4th Ave., while television cameras rolled inches from thir faces capturing the funeral service on film. CURIOUS bystanders criticized the event, call- ing it a parade. Several of the street's residents questioned the blocking of their street anticipating the possibility of an emergency arising- needing the street for immediate access. Downing was shot while walking through the rear door of National Bank of Ypsilanti, 300 E. Michigan Ave., after answering a burglar alarm. One of the alleged burglars was shot on the scene by one of the two officers who arrived to help Downing and the remaining three sus- pects have been taken into custody-one by the Detroit Police Department and two by the Ypsi- lanti police. "Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," said Rev. Leonard Koeninger, emphasizing the second half of the phrase, as if to capture the bitterness the police officers might have felt. OCCASIONALLY a member of the crowd would leave to sit in the shade and recover from what seemed to be either over-exposure to the intense heat or grief. Upon the conclusion of the reverend's speech, a small brass band at the far end of the police line softly played a slow funeral tune. Military commands of "attention" further broke the silence and the officers straightened up in preparation for the casket. DIGNITARIES and friends lined a special path for the white-gloved pall bearers who proceeded slowly, carrying the flag-draped casket. A siren rang elsewhere in the city and many officers shifted their eyes back and forth as the coffin was placed into the hearse. The officers then returned for a long wait in their patrol cars as the procession began. MOST OF THE officers attending the funeral indicated they had volunteered for what they admitted was a courtesy call. "We take care of our own," said James Feyr- rens of the Pontiac Police Department. "It is comforting to have other officers who are concerned," said Ypsilanti Sgt. Duane Moran, who was one of the pall bearers along with Sgt. David Mernor, Sgt. Edward Smith, Ypsilanti Police Chief Elwood Detloff, Roger Parker, and Inkster police officer Sandy Killins. "It is good for the populous to see officers concerned about someone who gave his life for the same thing they're working for," Moran continued. Association seeks to dispel! American myths about China By TIM SCHICK The experiences of two Amer- icans who recently traveled to China and a third who grew up there, were related to a group of about 200 last night, as a part of efforts by the U.S.-China Friendship Association to dispel myths about the People's Re-. public of China. Chris Gilmartin and Richard Gorden refuted what they thought to be American miscon- ceptions about China. THEY blasted the popular no- tion that communes have split up the Chinese family. Rural Chinese peasants still live in the traditional extended families, in the middle of modern com- munes, according to Gilmartin and Gorden. Another common misconcep- tion depicts the Chinese as a people under the rigid control of a government that dictates every aspect of their day-to-day lives, Gilmartin and Gorden, in an interview earlier yesterday, said they were surprised at the amount of freedom average Chinese workers have over their lives. "THE VILLAGE elects its own officials and makes its own decisions," said Gorden. Gilmartin and Gorden spent two months in the famous show- csae Tachai commune and a Shanghai factory earlier this year. They talked about their experiences on a trip which was designed to help them become familiar with China through part-time work among farmers and workers. Carma Hinton was born in China just after the 1949 liber- ation by the Communists. She lived there until 1971, receiVing her education in Chinese schools and participating in the Cultural See AMERICAN, Page 10 Doily Photo by KEN FINK CHRIS GILMARTIN, who tecently visited the People's Repub- lic of China, holds a copy of "New China," only magazine produced by Americans which deals with China. The maga- zine is a publication of the U.S.-China friendship association which sponsored her trip.