Another era, another White House

By JII TOBIN
Sappose the Washington Post had yanked report-
ers (arl Bernstein and Bob Woodward off that crazy
story about some burglars at Democratic headquar-
ters. Suppose .lohn Sirica had been appointed post-
master-general instead of federal jttdge. Suppose Spiro
Agnew had plugged the leaks in Miarvland. Suppose
Senator Sam Ervin had gone home to South Caro-
lina a couple of years earlv-
Stppose ichard Nixon were still president.
lHaldeman "I, uh, brought the papers in, Mr.
President. I don't think you'll believe it. Ile really
romped in Indiana and Gleorgia, of csturse, but uh'
Wallace took Alabama
President: "Jests Christ, Bob, what the hell is
going on IlIe's a (expletive deleted) peanut farmer,
for God's sake. Sixty-eight per cent, it's Goddamn
overwhelming. D)o you, uh, what do you see Agnew's
chances as."
l.: It's tough to (iitaitdible).
P.: 1 Inaudibe.)
II.: All the way. We've got to take them to the
floor on this. The papers gave it to him on a platter
and we've got ts give it to him right back. Christ,
Time Magazine might as well be his press agent."
P.: "Yeah, uh, call Ziegler on that. Something
on the Time edittors trying to put their man, try-
ing to elect their own candidate. It's time to move
on Carter. We've got to save Agnew's ass before it's
in a sling. I don't like this anti-Washington crap,

this think about big government. I want some plan-
ning, something concrete."
IH.: "I could call Magrtuder, tell him you're watch-
ing, tell him yiu want some action."
P.: "No, you can't bring in Agnew's campaign
ininager, too high-level, too, uh, too vulnerable and
I swant this to be independent. What time is Krogh
sitppssed tobe here?"
l.: (Inaudible.)
P.: "Tell Colson to be here oo. I want no mis-
takes on this, no screw-ups and I thing these guys
should know that this is number one for awhile, real
important. Look, I can't let some Goddamn preacher
sit at this desk. It just doesn't ... I thing Ted de-
serves a chance and he is going to get one."
H.: "We'll catch hell if it looks too much like
we're out to, uh, out to screw Carter. LBJ went
to bat for Humphrey in '68 and it made him look
bad."
P.: "Well, I don't want anything to be obvious.
I don't want to read the next day about how we're
out to get Jimmy Carter, the saint from Plains,
Georgia. Strictly under the table; God damn it,
there won't be any leaks on this."
H.: "Are you going to game-plan this out your-
self or what?"
P.: "Yeah. Yeah, I want to know the most (in-
audible). The most important . thing is to come out
with something on the racism thing. That's the weak

point tind we've got to stick it to him as hard as
we can. Cut the bullahit and grab him by the balls."
H.: "Michigan and Ohio are coming up, and I
thiik there's uh, there's got to be a lot of Wallace
peuiple --
P.: "It's not Wallace people, it's the liberals
and blacks. I want to see the FBI, and I want every-
thing they've got on him. Jesus, there has got to be
some dirt to throw around. Nobody gets elected in
Georgia without making friends with the wrong peo-
ple to show up in a national campaign. I want to
see, uh, there's got to be the toughest kind of scru-
tiny, you know, his family, his town. Make sure on
this, Bob, no stone left unturned.
II.: "Ziegler says the press is still asking about
Iumphrey, about a Humphrey-versus-Agnew race."
P.: "You know, you really can't ignore Hubert.
You just can't say Humphrey's out of it. I beat him
but (expletive deleted). I think he'd kill him. Humph-
rey is strong and Ted just couldn't take the heat.
But it won't be him. It's, uh, I think it's got to be
Carter."
H.: "You're sure, aren't you?"
P.: "Yeah. Look, I want you to stonewall the guy.
Don't spare anything. Find the weak point and shove
it in hard."
Jin Tobin is co-dirctor of The Dail j's simmer ed-
torial page.

The Michigan Daily
Edited and managed by Students at the
University of Michigan
Thursday, May 6, 1976
News Phone: 764-0552
Save Waterman-Barbour
ONE day soon the wrecker's ball will swing at the cor-
ner of North University and East University, and a
warm and historic corner of the campus will be turned
to ruins. The Waterman-Barbour Gymnasium will be
gone; a glittering new wing of the Chemistry Building
will bury its place in the University's memory.
Take a walk through Waterman while it still stands
this summer. As you enter. smell the earthy air which
tells of energy and exertion, of fatigue and exhiliration.
Cilmb the stiirs so many before you have climbed. Stroll
through the echoing gym.- where basketballs pound the
tired woiOden floor, where joggers thunder above on the
els'vssted track.
These sorts of sights and sounds are becoming in-
creasingiv ibset from a University preoccupied with
deriviig maxim:um efficiency from minimum funds, and
e0 h loss makes it' cth ampus a little colder, a little less
appiilina to the prospective student who seeks warmth
aid J eeling of belsmonin during four years of college.
Therseti be no rlaminent for Waterman and
Bairbiir. Thisr rhitistrs' is tunique, their place in the
'i'olli'itioiis ii aluia sid students priceless. The Uni-
vErsity plods wis, disit lndmarks and memories be-
fore ii How sad that the administration's priorities have
denis'd is of one of the sorts of things we value most.
We urge that you support the petition drive to save
Witerman and Barbour.
" c I: st05 in eace
The ten cent pay phone call, long a sign of stability
in thetsei iflated times, died Tuesday it Lansing. It was
24.
Ma Bell announced the dime call's passing upon
facitg a rate increase by the state Public Service Com-
mission. The deceased will be replaced by the twenty
cenit phone call.
Born in 1952, the ten-cent call quickly became a
mainstay in drugstores and bus terminals throughout the
staute. refusing to budge a cent when double digit infla-
tion beyu.s to strip the dirne of its purchasing power.
It witnessed many similar deaths during the past few
decades, including the price tags of Cracker Jack, Chun-
ky, the Detroit News and Free Press, Doublemint and
the piping hot, ten cent cup of coffee.
Besides a nice, glowing memory of the days when
a dime went a long way, there are few survivors.

VJNERIE C4RTOZ Sro

. -.
'.

1{

Letters to The Daily

To The Daily:
As I have been singled out by the media as
"one of the most vocal critics of the DNA re-
search", I should like to urge the Regents that
recombinant DNA research be postponed at the
University of Michigan for one year; or until
microbiologists provide us with more convincing
evidence of the desirability of DNA research.
Such a decision would be salutory for a number
of reasons:
* it would pave the way for other universi-
ties to reflect critically on whether or not to go
ahead with the research;
* it would make scientists re-think soberly
the whole thing and its consequences;
* it would prove that the University is a re-
sponsible public agency that can make judicious
and difficult decisions, in spite of the pressure
from those who are interested in pursuing a

given piece of research come what may;
. it would demonstrate that the University
is a responsible moral agent (which can collec-
tively recognize the far-reaching social and hu-
man dangers of tampering with the nature of
life), and takes time to reflect on the grave
dilemmas with which the progress of science has
confronted us,
* all other arguments to the contrary-name-
ly, that if we do not do it, other universities will,
that research of this kind is actually going on,
that some scientists might- leave U of M, etc.,
have nothing to do with the real function of the
University - have nothing to do with the real
role of knowledge in human affairs, have noth-
ing to do with the moral responsibility of aca-
demia vis-a-vis society; but have to do with
the competitive nature of present scholarship.
Henryk Skolimowski
Professor of Philosophy
April 30,1976