Recalling the heroes at Duffy Square By JEFFREY SELBST Last sotwo paints ATH 1 DUIY-F was a Catholic priest, beloved and F reknowned for his small acts of heroism. It wasn't his braving the trenches to tend the wounded or ad- ministering rites to the dying that won him the place he held among the people of his time-it was kindness and simple humanity. No less an old curmudgeon than Alexander Woollcott waxed gooey and sentimental when speaking of this man on Woolicott's radio pro- gram of the early forties, "The Town Crier." There is a slab of concrete in Manhattan, a busy traffic island across from Times Square, known as Duffy Square. In it stands a green statue, paid the casual disregard New Yorkers reserve for their treas- ured monuments. And each Memorial Day, a ceremony takes place around the base of the immobile Father Duffy. The Father Duffy Post of the Catholic War Veterans pays its respects to the glories of war dead with a program of speech and prayer. Vast Sunday I observed this rite, conducted by Joseph Meehan, past Commander of the Post, and in- cluding the guest speaker, Joe Riley, current Com- mander of the Post, himself a veteran of the War to End All Wars. JOE MEEHAN is thick-waisted, with bristly, short, whitish hair. He stands in old but respectable cloth- ing, his blazer straining to encircle his stomach as he hobs with dignity, talking to the audience standing in line to buy tickets at the half-price theater ticket booth on the Square. He asks for their attention. They have come from New Jersey, from Queens, Brooklyn, and Westchester to buy the best seats in Broadway houses for a seeming pittance. They are tied together by a love of the stage-or at least a love of the chic. And here, unfolding before them, is a live theatrical presentation and all the more chic for being camp. They are bemused. One has only to watch their stupid languor to know that they will be entertained twice that day. But nothing sinks in-in fact, almost nothing can be heard. A man smokes a pipe, a thought- ful look crosses the face of another. They are bound together in disinterest as well, So they give their grudging attention, faces licked by cool, after-rain breezes. Meehan has begun to sweat. A cadre of fellow-members and well-wishers has form- ed a tight group in front of the memorial, calling their support and praise with tightly-knit good humor. They tell him not to be nervous, that he's doing fine, but he is not used to public speaking.M Meehan calls on Riley, the current commander, to say a few words. Riley is short, also white-haired, mus- tachioed. He looks to have been a quiet man, proud of what he has done-he wouldn't have had it any other way. Meehan loks younger, and was probably a hell- raiser. 'The subway, lifeblood of the city of New York . . . lives at the very foundation of the statue. As Riley com- mences, an IRT local passes under- neath. The noise is deafening; the crowd, bored, turns away, for they cannot hear a thing. And in a city where so much happens, so little is really seen.' RILEY OPENS his mouth, and the crowd continues its animated murmuring. He stops and waits as a schoolteacher might, but no one ceases to chat iHe strains, he raises his voice inside his head, and then begins to speak. The subway, lifeblood of the city of New York, main artery of transportation, lives at the very foundation of the statue. As Riley commences, an IT local passes underneath. The noise is deafening; the crowd, bored, turns away, for they cannot hear a thing. And in a city where so much happens, so little is really seen. Riley raises his voice; this cool little man has also begun to perspire. The well-wishers become mo raucous, but it is as watching an old, silly silent. Com gestures for people who are celebrating what wa perhaps the most important moment of their live They will not forget, but the city already has, The line for tickets is moving slowly. I am standin waiting for tickets to Pacific Overtures with a formt Daily staffer and her parents and aunt. They are cha tering about the show, reviews, newspapers -a around them the conversations are scarcely differen The presentation of the floral wreath. It is a cross white flowers, and where the two bars meet, there a fine circle of red carnations. The stand on which sits is covered with greenery. Even more than Easte the festival of Memorial Day is one of life-contrasts with death. But life is prevalent. Across the countri matrons are digging out white shows and planni afternoon barbeques for it is the season. Father Duff gazes impassively down. Why are the dead honore after they're gone? How will it do them any good? 'h was a feast, in honor of the only man present w would've enjoyed it. TRAFFIC IS SCREAMING around Duffy Squar across from Times Square. The city, at least her never sleeps. There are theaters, restaurants, hooker fronts, parties, gays, straights, lots and lots of neO It is a festival by itself. The men of the Father Duffy. Post of the Cathos War Veterans pack up their things and get ready leave. The crowd has paid scarcely more attenti now than it ever did. I approached Joe Meehan, to him I was a reporter, and he asked me where I w from. "Ann Arbor, Michigan," I replied. He said that he thought they had a post there, well as at that other big Michigan city-what was i they made cars there .. . "Detroit?" I ventured. "No, that doesn't sound right," he said, vaguely. But Father Duffy wouldn't have cared. Daily Arts Editor Jeffrey Selbst spfen l roril D eekend in the Big Apple. The Michigan Daily Edited and managed by Students at the University of Michigan Friday, June 4, 1976 News Phone: 764-0552 Sheriff Reagan riding hg RONALD REAGAN is a frightening character. The Daily has said it before, and if this burnt-out Hollywood refugee wins the Republican nomination for president it will certainly say it many more times, but seldom has there been stronger provocation for such a stand than Reagan's latest statement on the possibility of U.S. assistance to the minority white regime in Rhodesia. Reagan's infernal philosophy of foreign intervention has produced yet another jewel: he told reporters Wed- nesday that, if asked, he might send troops to keep the peace during a transition of power if the government of Prime Minister Ian Smith "said that a taken show (of force) . . . is necessary." "Whether it would be enough to have simply a show of strength, or whether you have to go in with occupa- tion forces or not, I don't know," Reagan said. While one hesitates to throw about such an overused and nebulous term as "imperialism," it is impossible to resist the urge in this case. Whether Reagan thinks that he could keep the U.S. out of war in such a situation or not, his position is one of interference in the affairs of a nation which has the right of self-determination, and a Reagan "peace-keep- ing" force would almost certainly favor the minority regime which has stifled self-determination all along. TODAY'S STAFF: News-Michael Blumfield, Jay Levin, Ken Parsigion, Tim Schick, Michael Yellin Edit-Joy Levin Arts-Jeffrey Selbst Photo Technicion-Steve Kagon Mailbox: On ballot laws, filth at the Grad, and wagons '76 election law there will be no toilet paper, the soap will o The Daily: be gone and paper towels will be scattered Those thousands of city students and oth- about the floor. rs who signed petitions to get one of several Considering the amount of money the Uni- ninority parties on the ballot in November versity has put into renovating the library, hould know that these parties may well be I wonder why it doesn't at least put ie arred from ballot status anyhow. Last month, effort into keeping it clean? new Michigan election law was passed, cre- Fiona Manupelli tin, new additional reuirements for No. June1 T el m sF a a1 gil1, 117 , qVld g l G1G1J 11 IV vember ballot status. Fearing that voters might take the "fight for independence" too literally, pro nent of the aew law offer the following rationale: "There aren't enough slots in the ballot boxes to accommodate all the parties; thus, some parties must be eliminated for a better fit. Besides, it'll save the taxpaypers' money." In the spirit of S-1, the law restricts the use of people's democratic rights, as voters and as independents who might want to start new parties where the old ones have failed. The law has been opposed by several mi- nority parties and others concerned. The ACLU is presently challenging the law, Tonight at 7:30 in the Michigan Union, the threat posed by the new law and the move to stop it will be discussed at a forum with Zolton Ferency (SHRP), Perry Bullard (Dem.) and Tommy Dennis (Communist). The program proenises to be worthwhile for those who find the new law disturbing. Mary Nash Marxist Forum June 2 filth To The Daily: Just once I would like to go into the Graduate Library knowing that the women's bathrooms are clean. During the four years I have been at this university, the Graduate Library has been consistent in seeing that its bathrooms are filthy. Each weekend, one-can rest assured that To The Daily Regarding the Bicentennial Wagon Trai (Wagons roll into Clinton, May 25) and it glorification: Two hundred years ago, mart or less, white settlers rode westward acros this continent, massacreing any Natives wh stood'in their way, burning their homes an ravaging their sacred places. Now wagon roll eastward, as part of a great nationa "celebration." It might be well if they - and with them any other firm believers in Manifest Destiny - continued rolling into the Atlantic Ocean. Maybe in this way some lad could be freed for the use of the origina inhabitants; far too many of whom now lit in crowded ghettos and reservations. Jennifer VanderWall May 25 Letters should be typed and limited to 400 words. The Daily reserves the right to edit letters for length and grammar.