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Heller. . .many
Vietnam.
demonstrations have nothing to do with
Legislators call
march ineffective
by BART BECKER
Staff Writer
An overflow crowd in the Nebraska
Union Ballroom was enthralled and
entertained Thursday afternoon as
novelist-playwright Joseph Heller read
from his works and answered
questions about his literature.
Heller, author of Catch-22 and the
play We Bombed in New Haven was
interrupted several times during his
presentation by applause.
He called Catch-22 his favorite
novel. "It's taught me a lot and it's
brought me a lot. It doesn't contain
my feelings about World War II,
however, " Heller added "although the
catch of Catch-22 comes up time after
time in military and civilian life."
THE AUTHOR EXPLAINED that
the book "was written as a work of
literature, not propaganda."
He also called the movie based on
Catch-22 "one of the best
American-made movies I've seen."
During his reading Heller drew
parallels between Yossarian, the main
character of the book, and today's
young Americans whom he said are
torn between similar moral pressures.
"I'M PLEASED TO note that more
and more Americans are less and less
ashamed of being afraid to continue
the war in Asia," he said.
After reading from Catch-22 for
about an hour, Heller read a passage
from his play We Bombed in New
haven , which he described as
"dealing with a war we try to pretend
isn't occuring."
He also entertained the audience
with a short segment from his
as-yet-unreleased novel, Something
Happened. The new novel should be
completed by the end of this year and
published by the end of 1972, Heller
said.
In response to a question
concerning drug use as a means to
increase creative powers, Heller
expressed doubt that drugs produce
that effect.
"I DONT MEET anyone anymore
who says using drugs helps their
work," he said. "Thank God people
who drop acid have quit talking about
gaining knowledge and creative powers
because of it."
The 48-year-old author, a
bombadier during World War II, talked
to reporters earlier in the day about a
variety of current issues.
In Heller's opinion it is a sense of
frustration which leads to violent
demonstrations.
"Many of the demonstrations have
nothing to do with the Vietnam war,"
he charged. "They're just an
expression of discontent."
In the event of the war ending, the
New York University graduate forsees
other problems developing in the
United States.
"THE GOVERNMENT WILL make
only the moves necessary," he said.
"Governments do no more than
necessary to maintain power. People
talk about revolution, but I dont think
we're going to have a successful
revolution without the support of the
military."
Said Heller: "Nobody I know likes
being ruled by Washington. Many
people in this country don't recognize
legitimacy of Congress. This is rule by
force."
Heller, who has taught at Yale and
the University of Pennsylvania, noted
that a problem comes up when
authorities try to implement programs
to help gronps because "you can't do
anything for one group without taking
something from another either
monetarily or psychologically.'"
The anti-war sentiment
expressed by 1,500
demonstrators and two hours
of testimony at a public
hearing Wednesday on the
Capitol steps probably didn't
change the Legislature's
position on the war, according
to some state senators.
Sen. John DeCamp's
resolution calling for the
withdrawal of all American
troops from Indochina by a
fixed date-if resurrected, it
will probably again be killed on
the floor, predicted - several
lawmakers.
The hearing was "a waste of
time," said Sen. Robert Clark
of Sidney. If the hearing had
been called by the Legislature,
instead of by DeCamp.it might
have been a different story, he
said. As it was, the Legislature
was in session that afternoon,
so few senators attended the
hearing.
Kearney Sen. Gerald
Stromer, who spoke for the
State Republican Party at the
hearing, said most senators
viewed the hearing as a "bit
unusual" since the Legislature
acted on the DtCamp
resolution several weeks ago.
"We had already discussed
the resolution on the floor. We
didn't feel we had the type of
briefing necessary to make any
decision," he said.
Holding the hearing on the
Capitol steps set a bad
precedent, commented Sen.
Duke Snyder of Omaha. "I felt
it was improper for those
senators who organized the
hearing to use the Capitol
entrance."
Calling DeCamp's resolution
a " publicity shot," Snyder
said, -"the floor of the
Legislature is not the place to
debate national issues."'
He pointed out that
Legislature is in session
little significance.
the
for
Most of the senators
contacted were in favor of
withdrawing American troops
from Vietnam but objected to
the resolution because, in Sen.
Claire Holmquist's words, "as a
practical solution, the
resolution doesn't carry any
weight."
Sen. Herb Nore of Genoa
called the hearing "a great
victory for Hanoi." Although
holding a hearing on the
Capitol steps is within the
public's Constitutional rights.
Nore said he believes "many of
these hearings are promoted by
Hanoi, Peking and
Moscow-very indirectly," and
many students are unaware of
this.
Several senators said they
commended the demonstrators
for holding a peaceful hearing
and regarded it as a legitimate
avenue for expressing opinions.
Spring rites
Today is spring day.
which means no after-'
noon classes.
There will be activities
galore on the intramural
fields east of Abel-San-
doz Hall. A good time
should be had byall
if it doesn't rain.
nriArnnw
FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1971
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA
VOL. 94 NO. 112
o ,
o r
iff ''
I " lj H IS--
' j
'As
I was Walkin Down the Street One Day! . ..
belts out Terry Karh as jazz-rode Chicago explodes at
Lincoln's Pershing Auditorium Thursday night,
bringing the audience to their feet many times during
the driving concert.
