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THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Thre
City hears voter
registration talk
By DAVID WHITING
A proposed door-to-door voter
registration resolution received
a strong majority endorsement
from local residents at last
night's City Council meeting.
Council plans to vote next
Monday on the resolution, sub-
mitted by Mayor Albert Wheel-
er. Local City Hall watchers
expect the motion to pass.
ALTHOUGH MOST of the
speakers voiced approval for
the proposal at a public hearing
on the issue, two residents lash-
ed out at Wheeler's motion.
They claimed the motion is an
attempt to thwart the expressed
wishes of a majority of city
voters. A proposed door-to-door
City Charter amendment was
defeated by some 5,000 votes
last April.
Roberta Schropp declared to
Council, "You should respect
the appeal of your voters." She
contended that if such a voter
registration proposal is to be
voted on, "It should be return-
ed to the polls to be reviewed."
LARRY CLARK echoed Sch-
ropp's words and further threat-
ened a class action suit should
Council pass the motion.
H o w e v er, a spokeswoman
from the League of Women
Voters (LWV) explained that
there are sharp differences be-
tween Wheeler's registration
proposal.and the one previously
defeated.
She branded the April ballot
issue as "vague" in parts and
restated the LWV's position that
the defeated voter registration
charter amendment was unac-
ceptable. She then said that the
LWV found Wheeler's motion
"commendable" with its clearer
provisions and more stringent
rules,
Wheeler's resolution includes
regulations on the political con-
duct of registrars and notes,
"any registered voter in Ann
Arbor may be appointed as a
volunteer deputy registrar after
successfully completing all nec-
essary training and being sworn
(in)."
Because Council has no direct
authority over the City Clerk,
the mayor's motion is merely
a directive to institute door-to-
door registration.
Gay Cox, a deputy registrar,
spoke in favor of Wheeler's mo-
tion. She said it is needed be-
cause "people have no idea that
they are eligible to vote."
Police shoot
youth after
break-in
Michael Collins, 17, arrested
Sunday during a house break-in
in which city police shot and
seriously wounded Willie Wilson,
also 17, as he fled from the
burglary scene, was arraigned
in Washtenaw County Circuit
Court yesterday and released
under his own custody.
Wilson remained in fair con-
dition in the intensive care unit
at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital
last night, according to a local
police sergeant, as Councilwo-
man Kathy Kozachenko (HRP-
Second Ward) announced plans
to demand a full investigation
into the shooting tomorrow.
"NO WARNING shots were
fired," contended Kozachenko
at last night's Council meeting.
A third youth, 15, arrested at
the scene of the house-burglary
at 1116 Packard, was taken into
custody at the juvenile court
center Sunday.
Water sports
Patty Cake, the star attraction at New York's Central Park Zoo, reacts gleefully to the cooling
spray of water from a hose as her keeper helped her beat the city's heat. Patty will be three on
Sept. 4.
VALIDITY OF AMENDMENT QUESTIONED
Supreme Court refuses to
consider Gandhi's appeal
NEW DELHI, India (A) - The Indian Supreme
Court refused yesterday to hear Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi's appeal of an election law con-
viction until it determines the validity of a new
constitutional amendment which would acquit
her.
Shanti Bhushan, chief lawyer for Gandhi's op-
ponents, said the decision of the court, all of
whose members were appointed by the prime
minister, "further demonstrates the continuing
independence of the Indian judiciary."
GANDHIS lawyers asked the five-man bench
to overturn her June 12 conviction immediately
arguing that the constitutional amendment had
arised the guilty verdict.
The amendment states that courts no longer
have jurisdiction to hear election cases involving
the prime minister, the president, the vice presi-
dent and the speaker of the Parliament. It also
says any court judgments involving the prime
minister "shall be deemed always to have been
void and of no effect."
Atty. Gen. Niren De told the court that "if
Parliament could not amend the constitution as
it had, it could lead to a situation where the
constitution could be changed only through a
revolution." De's remarks were carried by an
Indian news agency and by the government radio
network after approval from censors.
Gandhi's conviction on two charges that she
illegally used government officials to aid her
1971 campaign for Parliament touched off In-
dia's worst constitutional and political crisis
since independence in 1947.
Police report reveals
small rise in city crime
By TRUDY GAYER
City Council will receive a
report next week revealing that
some 10,067 major crimes were
committed in Ann Arbor during
the last fiscal year, according
to Police Chief Walter Krasny.
"The figure looks disastrous,"
remarked Krasny, but "major
crimes are actually down a
very small percentage." Major
crimes are defined by the city
police department report to in-
clude murder, rape, robbery,
burglary, assault, larceny, and
auto theft.
BICYCLE thefts show a slight
decrease of 25 over the previous
year's figures while car thefts
are on the rise. Krasny points
out that auto theft has been in-
creasing steadily o v er the
years.
"Automobiles offer instant
cash," he said, explaining a car
can be painted, camouflaged
and sold on the used car mar-
ket, or stripped down guaran-
teeing the thief resale value for
the tires and other parts.
Many of the auto theft cases
which have been c lea re d
(arrested or charged) were per-
petrated by organized gangs,
said Krasny, while othersaare
done by "a guy who doesn't
have enough courage to break
in and rob a place."
"THERE IS nothing you can
do to stop them (thieves),"
Krasny declared. "Just make
it more difficult for them." He
said the use of locks and other
deterrents will help.
Rapes increased by 19 over
the previous year. "We're prob-
ably getting more reportings,"
remarked K r a s n y. Forcible
rapes increased by four and
assaults with the intent to rape
were up by 15.
The official crime index re-
port for the fiscal year is ex-
pected to be released at the end
of August.
KRASNY explained that the
city's crime rate has been hold-
ing steady at the relatively high
level described in the report
even though the police force
must deal with an increasing
workload.
Asked how much longer the
force can keep the crime rate
steady, Krasny replied, "I don't
know. We have to keep our
fingers crossed. There is no
money in the city budget."
The police chief said the force
is working with 35 fewer people
than two years ago.
Little says Alligoodi
demanded oral sex
RALEIGH, N.C. (am) - Joan him.
Little, speaking a hushed, break- Little said Alligood was stand-
ing voice, told the jury in her ing in the doorway of her cell
murder trial yesterday that when she left the jail with a
Beaufort County jailer Clarence "silly little grin" on his face.
Alligood forced her to have oral After Little left the witness
sex with him before she stabbed stand, defense lawyer Jerry
him with an icepick last Aug. 27. Paul asked J u d g e Hamilton
Little, a 21-year-old black wo- Hobgood to rule out in advance
man, said the white jailer began cross examination by the prose-
making sexual advances to her cution that would delve into
two or three weeks after she en- Little's past character. The de-
tered the jail early last June. fense asked that details of the
Under cross examination she breaking and entering convic-
told prosecutor William Griffin tion, for which she was jailed
that she did not report the ad- at the time of Alligood's death,
vances because she did not to be excluded.
think a black woman would be
believed. HOBGOOD made formal -an
"MR. GRIFFIN, sometimes earlier ruling excluding Little's
you have the evidence and you health records and jail records
tell the truth and they twist it as evidence. He delayed a rul-
in a way so to make you not tell ing on the other material.
the truth," Little said. Little was still on the stand
"In Washington, N.C., coming for cross examination when
up as a black woman, it's dif- court adjourned yesterday. In
ferent saying what you did and his questioning, Griffin sought
have your word go up against to portray Little as a person
a white person," she continued. desperate to get out of jail. He
Earlier, Little broke into sobs asked her to read numerous
as she described a struggle entries from journals she made
with the jailer for. the icepick while in jail that spoke of a
which she said he used to desire to get back to her boy-
threaten her the night he was friend.
killed. She read a note which Griffin
said she had written to her
SHE SAID she had oral sex boyfriend, Julius Rodgers, that
with Alligood, 62, for "three or said, "I miss you so much I'm
four or five minutes" before she about to go crazy here. I've got
tried to wrest the icepick from to do something."