The Michigan Daily Vol. LXXXVI, No. 56-S Ann Arbor, Michigan-Thursday, July 29, 1976 Ten Cents Twelve Pages Counci person: Mayor backed Austin to block sewer plan By PHILLIP BOKOVOY A member of City Council has charged that Mayor Albert Wheeler told Wayne County officials he would endorse U. S. Senate candidate Richard Austin if the officials, who reportedly are supporting Austin, would help block Ann Arbor's inclusion in a controversial regional sewer plan. The plan, nicknamed "Super Sewer," would include Ann Arbor in a huge "k drainage system through Wayne and Washtenaw counties. Wheeler and the Council have opposed the plan from its inception. The Michigan Water Re- sources Commission has now excluded Ann Arbor from the plan, but Wayne County officials are still contesting the matter in court. WHEELER endorsed Austin, Michi- gin's Secretary of State, last Monday. The mayor said he had merely been telling the Council member in question "one of the ways of operating politically to serve your constituents," and added that the role of the sewer issue in the endorsement was relatively minor. On Monday, Wheeler called Austin "a man of integrity," and added, "He will be vigorous in working to get things done. BUT THE Council member who spoke to the Daily has alleged that Wheeler originally indicated support for Rep. Donald Riegle, but could not endorse him because of "pressure" being ap- plied by "old friends." Wheeler admitted that he had "a lot of respect for Riegle," and that a num- her of his old friends had indeed been urging him to support Austin because he would be the first black Democratic Senator. Council menber Carol Jones (D.-2nd Ward) suggested that perhaps the coun- cilperson had misconstrued what the mayor had said. She speculated that Wheeler had been giving 'f'rinstances' Daily Photo by SCOTT tCCKFR while explaining the most useful way to Rushing the rapids give political endorsements. COUNCIL MEMBER Jamie Ken- Take a couple of old inner tubes, add two adventurous souls, put them in the worthy (D.-4th Ward) also thought there swirling waters of the Huron River, and what do you have? A perfect way to was another explanation. He maintained cool off on a hot and humid summer day that if Wheeler had wanted political Quakes take toll in China Wheeler favors in exchange for an endorsement he would have sought them in the May presidential primary. He explained that Detroit Mayor Coleman Young had been supporting Jimmy Carter and that if Wheeler had wanted political help with 'Super Sewer' he could have backed Carter at that time instead of Morris Udall. Wheeler stated that in making a po- litical endorsement he asks himself cer- tain questions. "I want to know 'which is going to do the best for us;' 'How am I beholden to this person', and 'Will they give us some help on this, that or the other'." lie said he had considered all these questions in making his endorsement of Austin. KENWORTIHY remarked that the sew- er controversy had been going on for a long time and "Al's been the first person to resolve it successfully." Jones could not understand why Wheel- er would have taken the sewer issue into consideration in making his endorsement. "If Al really said that, and if he meant it in regard to our local sewage treat- ment question, then I believe he is read- ing the political intricacies and the judi- cial intricacies erroneously; unless he knows something I don't know," she ex- plained. TOYKO (A')-The streets of Peking were crowded yesterday with frightened residents, plastic tents and makeshift hospitals after two major earthquakes rocked China's heavily populated north- eastern corner, reports from the Chinese capital said. In the giant port city of Tientsin, 80 miles to the southeast, witnesses said there was widespread destruction. JAPANESE PRESS reports from Pe- king said the first quake, which struck before dawn, collapsed old brick build- ings in Peking, sent residents fleeing into rainswept avenues, and cut off electricity in many sections. Reports on casualties in the stricken area were sketchy and inconclusive. "There were some people killed, but we were told not many," said former Aus- tralian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, who was visiting Tientsin and whose nine- story hotel "split in half, down the middle in two halves." His wife was slightly injured. IN WASHINGTON, the White House said the U.S. liaison office in- Peking reported all Americans in Peking and Tientsin were safe. U.S. Ambassador Thomas Gates offered any American aid the Chinese might want. The Canadian ambassador to Peking, C. J. Small, told Canadian Press by tele- phone that the quakes were a "great tragedy" 'and that the Chinese people had not yet been told the full extent of the damage. China's official Hsinhua news agency made its first mention of the quakes 20 hours after the first tremor and said "damage of varying degrees was re- ported." It gave no casualty figures. THERE WERE vague reports of cas- ualties in Peking, and Japanese press reports from the capital said emergency tents were set up to treat the injured. The first shock hit at about 3:40 a.m. Peking time (3:40 p.m. Tuesday EDT). See QUAKES, Page 5 Senate Candidate Profiles See paige 6