Friday, September 20, 1968
Page 2
The Daily Nebraskan
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Biafra: paying
the price
While the speaker, an Intense black student
from Biafra named John Anaza, struggled pass
ionately to explain the plight of his country,
students in the Union Thursday shuffled, chatted,
slurped at Cokes and gulped down hamburgers.
The situation, perhaps, is analogous to the pro
blems Biafra faces throughout the world in its
attempt to avoid annihilation. Biafra is paying a
high ana tragic price for the state of semi-anarchy
the rest of the world has involved itself in.
IN COMPARISON to the struggle now going on
in Biafra, it seems of little consequence whether
students are worried about frat parties or the Peace
and Freedom Party. Both activities are indicative
of our overwhelming concern with ourselves. Both
editorials resemble the position of our nation
so deeply entangled in the mud of Vietnam that
it cannot rise even to rescue a people from mass
starvation.
-John Anaza struggled manfully with the
language and with the apathy of his audience in
an attempt to enlist the aid of Nebraska students,
but it is unlikely that we will rise to the occasion.
-The argument, of course, is that Biafra is not
our problem. Perhaps never in recent history has
a tragedy unfolded in so obsure a corner of the
world, with so little concern or involvement on the
part of wealthy nations with problems of their
own.
Due to a massive effort by the American press,
most people are informed, to some extent, of
the nature of Biafra's problem. They know of t h e
starvation, the giant eyes and distended ribs of
dying children, the hopeless effort of the Ibo
tribesmen to establish their own, independent nation.
People have shown an uncharacteristic
reluctance to react, an unusual willingness to avoid
involvement.
THE TRUTH of the Biafran problem is that
starvation is the price Biafra pays for a world
divided against itself.
Nothing in our time exposes the impotence
of America and Western Europe so vividly as that
war. With the French helping to arm Biafra and
the Soviets chipping in with arms to Nigeria, the
great nations have managed to escalate the an
nihilation at a minimum of risk to themselves.
If America's college students, who supposedly
are the most concerned and eager-to-react sector
of our population, fail to respond to the pleas
of people like John Anaza, we can hardly expect
our beleaguered government to react.
Do something this setoester. Sign up to help
Binfra.
Jack Todd
J. L. Schmidt . . .
The Lost Chord
is alive and xvell
Between the eyes and ears there lie,
The sounds of colour
And the light of a sigh.
! With thoughts of within
To exclude without
The ghost of a chord
Will expel all doubt.
And to name this chord
Is important to some
So they give it a word
And the word is Om.
From the record jacket
After a record drought of some three or four
years the recording group known as the Moody
Blues has produced a new album with a sound which
is not the least reminescent of their first hit. We've
Gotta Go Now . . . and thank heavens.
The day of the heavy rag time piano beat
has passed into one of electric sounds and chord
liberaltizations.
JOHN LODGE, Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder,
Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge have delved into
their new musical wardrobe of twelve string guitar,
acoustic guitar, sitar, tablas, meliotron harpsichord
and the conventional bass, drums and piano, to
experiment with this new bag in music.
Before delving into the sound, it is interesting
to closely study the record jacket. The cover p;"ce
features a baby with umbellical chord attached
and leading into the lettering which states the
title, "In Search of the Lost Chord." The back
of the jacket shows the group in various poses
with the shirt of one of them pulled high enough
to reveal his navel.
Inside there is a drawing of a Yantra. one
of the basic drawings of Yoga. They say that
thought or intentness will cause exclusion of ail
other thoughts ultimately bringing about the stats
of mind to which the mediator aspires . . . much
in the same way that glaring into the embers
of the fire causes visions.
As Marshll McLuhan has said about the
Chinese, they pull up closer to the fire to see whsit
they are saying, I pulled up to the record player
to hear what they were saying.
Probably the most fantastic rendering on the
whole record includes the three pieces, House of
Four Doors, Legend of a Mind and House of Four
Doors(reprise). For exactly twelve minutes and
34 seconds the group displays talents ranging from
simple Beach Boy harmony to the symphonic
magnitude of Philharmonic, complete with strains
of GershwfcTi Rhapsody in Blue intermingled.
Dr. Livingston I Presume and Ride My See-Saw
also deserve mention, for their chiJd-like rhythm
and nonsensical verse are done with much taste and
a rather Bee Gee's sounding harmony.
Lest I be tempted to play them up too much,
I will suffice it to say that for ne money, hn
Is probably one of the best searches for the Lost
Chord that has ever been recorded in history,
musical or otherwise.
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Supreme Court, Hershey collide
by Susie Schmidt
WASHINGTON (CPS)
Next month the Supreme
Court will hear a draft case
that may affect hundreds of
young men around the coun
try, whose verdict will almost
surely deal a blow to the
Selective Service System and
the procedures it has followed
during recent months i n
reclassifying protestors.
In an unusual development
for such a case, the defen
dant, a 24-year-old diviinity
student, and the prosecution,
attorneys for the Justice
Department, have both
recommended the same
holding that the decision
of a lower court to uphold
his reclassification to 1-A and
his subsequent induction
because of his protest activity
be reversed.
THE JUSTICE Department,
in recommending reversal,
has collided with the Selective
Service and its director,
Lewis B. Hershey, who
maintains that local boards
have a right to reclassify
"those who engage in illegal
activity" as delinquents an
action that puts them at the
head of the list of priority for
induction.
The American Civil
Liberties Union, ( A C L U )
which represents Oestereich,
is fighting the reclassification
on several grounds and on
several levels. It argues that:
1. The declaration of delin
quency and reclassification js
invalid because it is 'punitive
and therefore cannot b e
undertaken without the due
process safeguards to the
registrant required by the
Constitution (counsel, con
frontation and cross
examination, and impartial
tribunal and so on);
2. That the act of returning
a draft card is speech pro
tected by the First Amend
ment. Evidence here, among
other things, is the fact that
in the original Selective
Service Act after World War
I "failure to possess (have
on one's person, as it is now
interpreted) a Registration
Certificate (draft card)" was
not on its face illegal, but
was merely evidence (to be
investigated) of failure to
register, which was Illegal.
The ACLU lawyers would
like to see those sections of
the draft laws that provide lor
violation for not having a
draft card on one's person
(rather than not having
registered) and that provide
for delinquency
reclassification for persons
who have failed to perform
some step In the registration
process declared unconstitu
tional, and they raise In heir
brief, filed wltb the Court last
month, far-reaching quel lOos
about the consistency of draft
provisions wltb Constitutional
guarantees.
The Justice Department
brief, filed last wepk. admil?
that inconsisteririe xis!cd
between the provision for ex-
The Justice Department and
the Supreme Court have the op
portunity to demolish General
Hershey's edict that draft demon'
strators be drafted. The fate of
many an "illegal" demonstrator
may hang on the court's decision
regarding a 24-year-old divinity
student.
emption (which, according to
Solicitor General E r w i n
Griswold, is guaranteed by
Congress and not subject to
loral board interference) and
the provision for
reclassification.
It suggests, however, that
in such cases as this one,
where individuals have
permanent exemptions, those
exemptions must take
precedence over the board's
right to reclassify. Thus, the
case would not apply to
students who have deferments
only until they are out of
school, not exemptions.
THE JUSTICE Department
says, however, that serious
question may be cast on the
constitutionality o f delin
quency reclassification as a
general procedure by such a
finding in this particular case.
Such unconstitutionality is
the ACLU's major contention,
because of a third provision
in the Selective Service Act
which prohibits court review
of draft disputes before in
duction. The lawyers say
delinquency reclassification
fits the definition of punish
ment set down in previous
court cases (retribution and
deterrence, among other
things) and therefore is il
legal since punishment cannot
be meted out in this country
without a trial and due pro
cess of law.
The prosecution never
really deals with this question
(other than saying it might
come up), but recommends
that the Court avoid having
to decide that difficult legal
question by merely saying the
exemption of divinity students
takes precedence in this case
over a board's reclassifica
tion. That "easy way out" of a
thorny case Is probably exact
ly what the court will do when
It hears the arguments and ..
rules in October, since the
practice of the court Is to
decide the case by the least
controversial and upsetting
route. But If the justices do
It that way, the question will
doubtless come up again-
next time the defendant will be
someone who doesn't have the
exemption and can fight on
the issue.
The Justice brief also puts
much of the blame for the
tricky legal situation o n
General Hershey. The
Department has previously
argued that his October 24
letter to local boards, recom
mending that they reclassify
and induct " prof' itors
posthaste, was "a statement
of per1 .1 opinion only" and
not r:aii(iatory or binding. In
cases brought against
Hershey last spring by the
National Student Association,
the court ruled that local
boards were not legally af
fected by that directive.
Now, however, the Justice
Department, in a deviation
from its spring position,
agrees with the opposition
that Hershey's memorandum,
for all its "informal" status,
was indeed in effect "inviting
local boards to u s e their
reclassification powers in a
punitive way" using them
to "get the bad guys." It
urges the court to take into
account when it considers the
case the fact that (as the
ACLU counts) at least 76 of
the 650 men who turned in
draft cards in October are
now involved in legal pro
ceedings because they have
been reclassified, and many
others probably just went into
the Army because they
couldn't afford court costs
all of which goes to show that
the letter had some effect on
the boards, and they weren't
"just acting randomly and
individually" as was claimed
last spring. .
THE OESTEREICH case is
the first of all these, perhaps
the only one, to reach the
"court of last resort," the
Supreme Court. Its decision
will affect hundreds of other
cases now in court. If it
decides on the narrow point
of law recommended by the
Justice Department that will
still affect perhaps 1,000
cases, according to officials.
If it should decide to tackle
the whole problem of in
consistencies and illegalities
in the Selective Service law
in general terms, as
advocated by the ACLU, its
ruling will affect every
reclassification instance now
in process.
Either way, General
Hershey has lost his battle
this time. Although the
Justice Department gave him
eight pages in its brief, ex
plaining his side of the story
and stating the Selective
Service case for upholding the
reclassification, it would not
let him enter his own brief
to the Court.
Both sides seem to concur
that his memo last October
was a blunder, both tactically
and legally. And both concur
that local boards have acted
illegally in many cases.
The differences come in
basic support for the draft as
it now exists. Most telling,
perhaps, is the ACLU's con
tinual references to
reclassification as "punitive,"
and the Justice lawyers' con
tention that "induction isn't
punishment" inferring that
young people should be happy
to serve in the armed forces,
not try to avoid it by any
means possible.
The really broad issues
whether delin quency
reclassification should b e
considered illegal not a s
punishment for past deeds
because it forces compliance
with the procedures of t h e
draft system, whether it
denies the right of free speech
to registrants who must be
afraid to dissent for fear of
being reclassified are only
touched on in this case, but
they, too, are still hovering
beneath the surface, ready to
come up next time.
Dear Editor: '
In the pst, we have noticed
your propensity for the unin
tentionally ridiculous in edi
torial statements, yet never
before have 've seen this
Dailv lrlrakan
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f-'icINMIl.
paper strive so hard for the
asinine, the ridiculous, and
the blatantly untrue as in the
editorials of Friday, Septem
ber 12, 1968.
It is all very well, and justi
fiable, to "claim the right of
freedom of the press, but this
should be tempered by the
remembrance thi t students at
the University of Nka do
not have the right -f ' eHom
of support. Our money goes to
this rag i pun intended)
whether or not we support
your inane policies. It would
therefore seem that you vould
have a hity t' Tent some
ralional ' Pis'tv i ' opinion.
Br' T. 15'anf' ard
Edward E. O'Neill
Inside report . . .
Agnew's policy
disturbs Nixon
by Rowland Evans And
Robert Novak
Washington Evidence that Richard M. Nixon
Is more disturbed by his running-mate's open
mouthed campaign than he lets on is found in
his discreet assignment of Stephen Hess, his long
time liberal advisor, to oversee Gov. Spiro T.
Hess, an author-intellectual blooded in the many
Nixon campaigns, originally was assigned to stu
dying transition problems for the Nixon ad
ministration. But the potential for disaster displayed
by Agnew in just two weeks on the campaign
trail has convinced Nixon he needs a trusted and
cool head like Steve Hess's to represent his in
terests. INDEED, NIXON'S concern reflects unease
over Agnew inside the Republican party that is
deeper than generally realized. Agnew's bizarre
campaign record so far not only casts one small
cloud on the other wise bright Republican horizon
but reinforces the consensus at Miami Beach in
August: the Vice Presidential selection has been
Nixon's only blunder of 1968.
Far from representing obedience to Nixon's
commands as claimed by Democrats, Agnew's Red
baiting and onslaughts on Vice President Humphrey
have been his own idea. Given the general assign
ment of countering Democratic attacks (a common
role for the Vice Presidential candidate), Agnew
has run wild.
Indeed, Nixon's sin regarding Agnew has not
been fashioning him into a hatchet-man but in
giving him, until now, too free a hand. John Sears,
the bright young Nixon aide and law partner
assigned to travel with Agnew, had no major say
in Agnew's strategy the first two weeks.
Nor was Agnew fully briefed on policy. In
that now famous Sept. 10 meeting with Washington
correspondents when he suggested Humphrey was
"soft on communism," Agnew also delivered less
publicized but equally injudicious pronouncements
on Vietnam flatly ruling out a coalition govern
ment in Saigon. That's not Nixon's position. Rep.
Melvin Laird of Wisconsin, a member of Nixon's
informal strategy board, has emphatically advised
against such a restrictive stance.
Although Agnew's hard line was applauded by
Republican regulars, party liberals exploded in
private. Former Gov. William Scranton of
Pennsylvania, an Establishment pillar fully com
mitted to Nixon, demanded that something be done
about Agnew. Sen. Edward Brooke, of
Massachusetts, who has risked his standing among
Negroes by all-out support of Nixon, vainly tried
to reason with Agnew; Brooke reported to friends
he found Agnew "very inflexible" on the law-and-order
issue.
What finally convinced Agnew that he ought
to retract his ludicrous charges against Humphrey
was a suggestion, passed indirectly to Agnew, from
Nixon headquarters.
EVEN THAT retraction, however, did not fully
extinguish the sense of outrage on the Repbulican
left. It was brought home to Agnew in Rochester,
N.Y. on Sept. 12 when he heard Dutch-uncle lectures
in private from New York's two Republican
Senators Jacob Javits, seeking reelection this
year, and the newly appointed Charles Goodell,
who may. have to run next year.
Javits was characteristically vehement. He in
formed Agnew that he had been making strong
endorsements of the Nixon-Agnew ticket and that
Agnew's wild statements were acutely embarrass
ing to him. Should they continue, Javits suggested,
he might have to dilute his support. A stony-faced
Agnew listened without comment.
It is partly to save Republican liberals from
more embarrassment that Nixon now is taking
a discreet but firm interest in Agnew's
performance. In addition to Hess's being attached
to Agnew's party, another astute Nixon lieutenant
New York publicist William Safire has been
coordinating problems with Agnew. Rep. John
Rhodes, the levelheaded conservative from Arizona
who ably represented Nixon's interests on the Plat
form Committee in Miami Beach, also is now riding
with Agnew.
Whether all this Is effective is a matter of some
doubt for seasoned Agnew-watchers in Maryland.
Ever since Agnew won popular acclaim with bis
condemnation of Negro leaders last spring, he has
been unalterably convinced t h a t he instinctively
holds the certain pulse of public sentiment.
This frame of mind concerns thoughtful
Republicans less by its Impact on Nov. 5 than
on the future. An inept Vice Presidential candidate,
seldom loses an election where his running-mate
is so far in front as Nixon. Rather, Agnew's
performance is disturbing because it casts doubts
on his fitness as heir apparent to national power.
With the help of Nixon's lieutenants, it will be
up to Agnew to erase those doubts by his record
the next six weeks.
Dial. 1961 by PjbUahen-Hall Syndicate
The II. C. Rag
by James Kirk Brown
Too crowded conditions
can hurt, "love thy neighbor."
Vet we all seem now doomed
to a preconceived labor.
A shame that our Pope,
in this post-natal crisis,
cannot see to leave people
to their own devices.
k-IM
