FJ~ Ld jigat E&til Sixty-Seventh Year EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS STUDENT PUBLICATIONS BLDG. * ANN ARBOR, MICH. * Phone NO 2-3241 "Rock-A-Bye Baby, In The Tree Top - Let's Make Believe The Fallout Will Stop" " mW - -- lm --- 'When Opiniam Are Free Truth WUl Prevail" 1' V FI ."v. . -. Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers or the editors. This must be noted in all reprints. SUNDAY, MAY 26, 1957 NIGHT EDITOR: ALLAN STILLWAGON Honors Council, Enrollment Restraint May Help 'U' Cope with Future ... , ' ,, : " ti i L."" 1 j ;F _ 1 _< FOLLOWS CYCLE: Local Building Boom Eases Housing Shortage By JOHN WEICHER TWO TRENDS could combine to keep student off-campus housing prices at about present levels: more students and more apartments. As enrollment increases, more and more students of necessity must live off-campus. University construction cannot keep pace with rising student enrollment. Nor can fraternities, sororities, and coperatives absorb these new students. At the same time, many more students than previously have decided that they want to live in apartments or rooms off-campus, rather than in University housing. Dormitory food is a factor in these decisions, but a great many students simply do not want to live in group housing. They want privacy and a chance to study, which they claim the dorm does not give them, This influx would automatically tend to cause price increases in apartments, acting by itself. But-there is another factor in this situa- FACED WITH inadequate operating funds the University must decide whether its first obligation is to maintain its standards or pro- vide whatever education it can for all quali- fied state residents. The problem is not unique. State-supported higher education in general is now saddled with the paradox of a society that wants a college. education for all, but is reluctant to pay for it. Most states have resolved the paradox by providing a mediocre college education. The University has been moderately success- ful so far in convincing the State that quality shouldn't be sacrificed. Its has succeeded in getting enough money to accomodate in- creased enrollment. But difficulties experi- enced this year indicate even Michigan resi- dents will not support quality education if it pinches the pocketbook. The University's first obligation is to the quality of its education. Its obligation to the State to provide education for all qualified residents is no greater than the State's obliga- tion to pay for it. The first line of defense against dropping standards, then, is to limit enrollment. A SECOND line of defense may be the newly- tormed Honors Council, one of the most signi- ficant achievements of the Literary College this year. Prof. Angell'and his colleagues are entrusted with the responsibility for encouraging and co- ordinating programs to aid the better student. But it is hoped they expand their mission. The Honors Council will provide a useful for- um for discussing problems of wider and more basic scope, such as whether students ought to spend 15 or more hours a week in class rooms, or whether it ought to take four or five years to get a doctorate. Though neither of these are often questioned, they are unique to Ameri- can education and good arguments can be brought against both. Many changes, other than limiting enroll- ment, will have to be made in the next decade if the University is to cope with the predicted onslaught of students. The Honors Council is in a good position to recommend these changes. -LEE MARKS City Editor , ; r _M . r THE NFXT r cENERArO$ . I I.-y' 1 L x T ' 04'> "t -rte t yys tMtc ma c." j 1 ' I )' 1 11 I) Reality of the Times' WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND: Billy Mitchell Case Retired By DREW PEARSON FROM THE CAMPUS of the University of Alabama last week came a sordid story - a story involving, in the words of a student newspaper editorial, "problems of freedom, of campus politics, of an institution caught in the whirling maze of emotional events, of people unwilling to face the reality of the times." The story revolves around a newly formed campus discussion group, Open Forum, the charter of which was recently revoked by the University of Alabama student government. Open Forum was chartered by the legisla- ture in February as a means of encouraging free discussion of outstanding political and so- cial issues. The Forum chose, however, to treat the most ticklish social problem in the, South today - segregation - and thereby lost its charter. IHE REVOCATION of Open Forum's char- ter is, in itself, of no major consequence. The action does not prohibit members from meeting on campus; it may even serve to strengthen the organization. The vitally important aspect of the matter lies in its implications and in the incidents 'leading up to the student government action. On the night of May 9, between 100 and 150 persons gathered at Canterbury Episcopalian Chapel for a meeting of Open Forum to dis- cuss "Academic Freedom." In the course of the meeting, there appeared on Chapel grounds about 70 sheeted members of the outlawed Ku Klux Klan. THE KLANSMEN invaded private property; they demonstrated; they hurled wild accu- sations; they threatened economic sanctions if their will was not obeyed. They don white robes; they mouth sacre- ligious prayers, such as "I thank Thee, Heaven- ly Father, that I am white"; they threaten; they hurl baseless charges of "Communist!"; they violate the same basic tenets of democra- cy which they, as Americans, are supposedly devoted to. And all in the name of blind, des- perate bigotry. In all this they were successful at Alabama. Though KKK is an outlawed organization in Alabama, and its members were trespassing on private church property, both the local and campus police were conspicuous' by their absence. IT IS FORTUNATE that'the mind of Ku Klux Klan is not typical of the mind of the South. It is unfortunate, however, that the many far- sighted Southerners who are quietly striving to overcome the bonds of tradition and preju- dice, though they may not be in any sense enthusiastic integrationists, ave so meekly knuckled under to the bigotry of the Klan. Integration is inevitable, the KKK notwith- standing. The process will be greatly facilitated if the more enlightened, clearer thinking ele- ments in the South will stand up and make themselves heard. Eventually, perhaps, they can lead the bigots to a reconciliation with reality and ultimately, realize the American ideal of unifersal free- dom and equality. -EDWARD GERULDSEN THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS after Gen. Billy Mitchell was court- martialed for championing air power, his son faced another mili- tary tribunal behind closed Penta- gon doors last week to plead for his father's honor. William Mitch- ell, Jr., asked the Air Force Cor- rections Board to reverse the his- toric court-martial. By chance, the air-conditioning broke down in the hearing room, the windows were thrown open, and the proceedings were punc- tuated by the roar of airplanes taking off from near-by National Airport. It was a dramatic sound effect, emphasizing how right Bil- ly Mitchell had been. Chairman George Robinson ask- ed young Mitchell whether his fa- ther had ever given the impres- sion that he wished to discredit the Army and Navy as the court- martial charged. IN A HALTING VOICE, the son replied: "I am familiar with my father's writings and publications. Although I was young when fath- er died, I recall his conversations around the house. It is my opin- ion that my father did not intend to discredit the services." The young man was choked with emotion. He tried to thank the board for considering his appeal. "I am completely dumfbunded " he blurted. "After all these years, we have finally gotten where we can present our side of the story and get my father's name cleared. I would like to let the board members know how deeply I appreciate the extent to which they have gone into this and their willingness to take time to go into the record." That was young Mitchell's to- tal testimony. His case was pre- sented by Steve Leo, spokesman for the Air Force Association,: which presented a 35-page brief. "History has certainly vindi- cated Mitchell," Leo declared. ".. .We have an autonomous Air Force today, because Mitchell charted the course. Airpower to- day is the cornerstone of our na- tional policy, as Mitchell pre- dicted it would be. * * * IF MITCHELL were guilty as charged, it would appear logical that he deserved to be dismissed from the Service. Instead, it would appear that the War Department wanted Mitchell-not out of uni- form and circulating his airpower beliefs among influential civilians -but in uniform and muzzled. Significantly, the board had trouble getting the secret court- martial transcript from the Ar- my, which has suppressed it for the past 37 years. At first, the Army refused to turn the trans- cript over to the Air Force. It took a formal letter from Air Force Secretary Donald Quarles to get the 60-volume record exhumed. The record shows that Billy Mitchell warned in 1925 that the Japanese would some day bomb Pearl Harbor, that airborne armies would parachute into battle, that intercontinental bombers would threaten the American homeland, that supersonic planes would roam the stratosphere. For his audacity in challenging accepted military ideas, Mitchell was accused of insubordination and sentenced to five years with- out pay, rank, or authority. He resigned instead, giving up a 27- year career and all retirement benefits. Young Mitchell has waived claim to any back benefits. All he wants is his father's name cleared. * * * IT'S EASY to talk about budget cutting, but intelligent cutting under our complex system must be an exact science. Except for a few congressmen who painstakingly followed the appropriations hearings, the bud- get cutters don't really know what they are doing. And in their wild swinging, there is grave danger of chopping off some vital gov- ernment function. For example: One congressman will offer an amendment to re- duce Navy appropriations. Im- mediately, two others will rush in with amendments to reduce the Army and Air Force by similar amounts. They argue that it isn't fair to cut one service without trimming the other two. This congressional logic, how- ever, doesn't happen to be true' MOST OF OUR vital defense projects are located in the Air Force budget. The Air Force is paying for the Intercontinental Ballistics Missile; the Strategic Air Command, which must be ready to go into action the moment the first bomb drops; the radar warn- ing network, which scans the skies for enemy bombers; the expensive Sage system, which is part of our air defense warning system; the Continental Air Command, which has fighter squadrons on 24-hour alert to defend the country. The Air Force has so many high-priority programs that it hardly has enough money left to pay for its housekeeping. In the new/ budget, for example, the Air Force could afford only 18 new staff cars. The rest of the money simply had to be spent on higher priority items. In contrast, the Army and Navy, with few high-priority projects, had enough money to purchase 7,000 staff cars. Thus, congress- men who want to cut all services equally can seriously jeopardize national security. (Copyright 1957 by Bell Syndicate Inc.) tion. Construction in Ann Arbor is also proceeding at a rapid rate, according to local real estate agencies. Developments are being erected on the outskirts of the city, such as Forest Plaza and Northwood Apartments. These developments tend to attract persons now liv- ing near campus who have no need to live there. The rooms and apartments they vacate will be- come available for student use, thus adding to the total number of apartments available. This construction is expected by, at least one local realtor to be heavy enough to counteract the student increase completely. The manager o an agency which rents 1200 apartments a year, 60 per cent of them to students, feels that the new buildings will force rents down in the next two years. * * * HE DOES NOT believe this de- crease will be as pronounced in the University area as in the rest of the city. This agent notes several signs that rents are even now beginning to drop. Landlords with apart- ments to rent have already told him to dicker with prospective tenants to get the best possible prices, but in some cases naming minimum figures as much as $20 a month below present rates. This is more the case in outlying districts than near the center of the city. Rentals in these areas are presently being reduced some- what. Average prices for rooms in the Ann Arbor area as a whole run abqut $65 to $80 per month for two-room apartments, consisting of a combination bedroom-living room and kitchen. (A private bath must also be included in all city apartments.) Three-room apart- ment prices average between $75 and $95. Four room apartments, which usually include two bed- rooms, a separate living room and a kitchen, may run anywhere from $90 to $150 per month. « , MAXIMUM MONTHLY rent is generally $160 for any apartment, one local realtor said. However, this is only an average, top prices may be $15 to $20 higher for choice locations. Apartments apparently are more available south of the campus than north. Prices are also higher north and west of the campus, toward the downtown area. A typical apartment, consisting of living room, bedroom and kitchen, with private bath split into a lav-1 atory in one place and shower in the kitchen, is offered for $120, with no shortage of takers. This particular apartment is offered by a real estate agency. At the same time, a four-room apartment located a similar dis- tance from the campus, but to the south and east of it, is available at the same price. This latter apart- ment, within ten minutes' walk of the campus, does not attract many prospective tenants,,the landlord says. * * .* THE SAME general rule also holds true in regard to apartments Iocated just west and east of the campus, although apartments northeast of the campus are usu- ally about the same as those to the west. This is because of their nearness to the women's resi- dences, realtors believe. Housing facilities have never been completely exhausted in re- cent years. Even with increasing enrollments, some apartments, in- cluding a very few within a block of the campus, 'remain unoccu- ,pied. The quality. of these, of course, is generally poor. Rooms without kitchens or cooking privi- eges are always available through- out the city. This fall, however, and until the new constrliction in the city makes itself noticeably felt, the shortage is likely to become more acuteand prices may rise even more. This will probably be the last year of such rises for a while -until University enrollment in- creases once more past the limit of available University and private housing. When this happens, the cycle may be repeated. This is looking far into the-fu- ture, by the standards of, a com- munity which has a nearly-com- plete turnover every four years. Within the "lifetime" of this par- ticular student body, it appears that prices will make one final rise this year, before beginning a cescent which should last through the next three years. DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN The Daily Official Bulletin is an official publication of the University of Michigan for which the Michi- gan Daily assumes no editorial re- sponsibility. Notices should be sent in TYP'EWRITTEN form to Room 3519 Adninistration Building, be- fore 2 p.m. the day preceding publication. Notices for Sunday Daily due at 2:00 p.m. Friday. SUNDAY, MAY 26, 1957 VOL. LXVII, NO. 170 General Notices Commencement Instructions to Fac- uilty Members: Convene at 4:15 pa.m. iu the first floor lobby in the Administra- tion Building. Buses will be provided in front of the Administration Building on state street to take you to the Sta- dium or Yost Field House to loin pro- cession and to take the place assigned to you on stage, as directed by Mar- shals; at the end of the exercises buses will be ready in driveway east of the Stadium or at west side of Field House to bring you back to the campus. Public Law 550 Veterans: One set of instructors' signatures showing regu- lar class attendance for month of May must be obtained and turned in to Dean's office on or before June 3. A second set of signatures certifying to attendance at final examination (or completion of course work where no final examination is required) must be turned in to Dean's office after last examination. The Inter-Cooperative Council is now accepting applications for room and/or board this summer. The following co- op houses will be open: Men - Naka- mura, 807 S. State; Owen, 1017 Oak- (Continued on Page 8) I I. ( i An Independent Formosa IT I$ A BIT EARLY, since facts are scarce, to see the immediate Formosan situation,-clearly but still, arguing from facts. long known, com- ment is in order. Press reports have generally agreed on these facts: The immediate cause of the riot was the acquittal of a U.S. soldier by a U.S. military court for allegedly killing a Chinese peeping- tom; the anger of the 30.000 rioters was wholly United States-oriented. The immediate results of the" riots would seem to be an increased propaganda campaign from the China main- land, a heightened disrespect for authority under martial law conditions on the island and an overdue reappraisal by the United States of our China policy. When the United States considers China policy, it must necessarily review its policy toward Formosa since this is the one China -of the two-with which we deal. In the past, it seems, when formulating, United States'policy we have been preoccupied with reasons for not recognizing the Peiping regime to the exclusion of considerations for not recognizing Chiang's Nationalists. Let us hope that State Department pundits are weighing this question today. Of what value is Formosa to the United States, and what can the United States afford to sacri- fice in other areas to buttress Chiang? FORMOSA'S italicized asset, says the Ameri- can military, is its inclusion in the Japan- Korea-Formosa-Philippines Far Eastern de- fense perimeter. This argument seems specious since, it must be admitted, our muscle in the Far East is the Seventh Fleet and why Formosa is essential to the operations of the Fleet has not been convincingly proved. Less realistic individuals argue that Chiang's Nationalists are the deterrent to mainland imperialistm, but practically, whether a faction outnumbered 300 to 1 in population and perhaps 20 to 1 in military might, can be called a deterrent is stretching a point. Secondly, status quo advocates claim For- mosa is a rallying point for Chinese anti- by invitation or military imposition, but the hard facts indicate this to be wishful thinking. To return by invitation, Mao's regime would have to crumble, and all reliable information says this is not in the offing. Besides, if, in the far future, the Communists lose favor, it by no means follows inevitably that Chiang will form the new government of China (if he is alive). To return militarily is a case which does not provide enough arguments for comment. BETTER ARGUMENTS exist for changing the present status of Formosa-that of an armed Nationalist camp, supported by treaty and dollars by the United States. First, four- fifths of the island's 10,000,000 inhabitants are not Nationalists in the strict definition but Formosans who, since 1895, experienced Japan- ese rule. Thus, although this shouldn't be over- emphasized, these people don't hare Chiang's fanaticism for a united, or mucl more, a China led by the likes of Chiang. Evidence hints that Chiang hasn't ruled the island with sympathy for the natives, nor is the island a hotbed of democracy. It is possible that underlying the anti-Americanism of the riots could lay a hate for the Chiang regime, whose stability the United States insures. Further, supporting Chiang is a drain on United States' aid resources-over three billion since the war. The economics of the island do not augur well for the future. It is predicted population will double in a generation, but the island can increase food production only 20 per cent and resources don't exist to support an industrial economy. With such circum- stances, and while so much of the population is involved in the military, Formosa will con- tinue to be dependent. Most seriously, the United States' commit- ment to defend Formosa is our deepest and most precarious involvement abroad. Nowhere in the world is war so likely. THUS, we suggest a change in the status of Formosa. We recommend a plebiscite, given 4~ ATOMIC RADIATION HAZARD: New Information Reveals Extent of Contamination (Editor's Note: David Kessel, B.S., M.S., is a graduate student in bio- chemistry, currently working at the University on a research project in amino acid metabolism.) By DAVID KESSEL SUDDENLY EVERYONE has be- come radiation conscious. Several national magazines have just published extensive surveys of the dangers of nuclear wea- pons. There have been few authorita- tive reports; rumors have multi- plied, and the usual propaganda sources have rushed in to fill this information vacuum with dismay- ing predictions. The Japanese government has v arned people to boil drinking water as protection against radio- active contamination. But boiling will not remove such impurities. A large television manufactur- ing company reports that a geiger counter test shows that their sets produce no X-rays. But a geiger counter is at best a poor test for X-rays. E N* * e IF THE JAPANESE government almost complete ignorance of the atomic situation. Perhaps the dan- ger of ceasing nuclear tests is far greater than any consequences of the radioactive fall-out produced. It is difficult to peer under the AEC blanket of secrecy which covers its mysterious movements and inevitable mistakes. Recently, however, some data have been published which afford a rough quantitative appraisal of the effect to be expected from atomic testing. These observations were origin- ally published in Science, the jour- nal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, from which they must percolate to the public by devious means. It must be remembered that there are two different dangers from explosion of atomic bombs. First is the high energy gamma radiation which adds to the nor- mal "background" striking the earth in the form of so-called cos- mic rays. This gamma radiation from the tests is carefully moni- tored, and has not yet raised the background level significantly. Of in indiscriminate use of X-rays is exposing the poor patient to more radiation than he would get from the normal background. The total background and X- radiation, then begins to approach an undesirable level. Apparently the recent radiation Scare will have a beneficial effect if it results only in an understanding of the consequences of misdirected use of X-rays. The second danger from atomic tests is the intake through food of radioactive elements produced from fission and fusion products. One particular isotope, strontium- 90, is known to be especially harm- ful. This element is chemically sim- ilar to calcium, a normal bone constituent, and is handled biolo- gically in much the same manner, so it tends to accumulate in grow- ing bone tissue, as calcium nor- mally does. Here, it produces pene- trating beta particles, which are known to be a factor in the inci- dence of leukemia, a malignant and fatal blood disease. Strontium-90 concentration in W calculate'd from concentrations found in infants, not from a mis- leading overall average. * * * THE ESTABLISHMENT of anr MPC for any radiation source has been a somewhat uncertain task at best, and the age-accumulation correspondence noted above is on- ly one of the complicating fac- tors. Something of the safety of the present MPC for strontium-90 may be realized after considera- tion of a report from biologist E. B. Lewis of the California In- stitute of Technology, also pub- lished in Science this month. Lewis concludes:. 1. Ten to 20 per cent of leu- kemia cases may be attributed to natural radiation from cosmic rays and other sources. 2. A constantly maintained lev- el of one-tenth of the current MPC of strontium-90 would raise the yearly leukemia level by five to 10 per cent, or between 150 and 3000 cases per year in the United States. The nature of the problem now becomes clear. If a linear cor- half-life of about 25 years. This means that, since it is constant- ly emitting beta particles, the ele- ment will be half decomposed in 25 years. The next step in the process is conversion to a new element, yttrium-90, which has a very short half-life. But yttrium-90 is an even more powerful beta emitter than strontium-90. It would seem that all of nature has conspired against us in this unpleasant situ- ation. S* * * AS THE MPC values for various sources of radiation are revised downward, nuclear weapons test- ing becomes more and more of a not too well calculated risk. While the radioactive contamination at present is low, it will certainly rise as more atomic bombs are tested in the future. If every country must detonate a series of atomic bombs to assert its sovereignty, the levels will rise even more. There is talk of a world-wide ban on atomic weapons testing. Thit appears to be impractical, but some type of control must I