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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1973)
editorio No draft dodging The draft. Three years ago, those words could send a chill up the spine of most college men. Now, however, with an all-volunteer Army, few think about the Selective Service System except when trying to remember when they are supposed to register with it But the volunteer Army might be short lived. Newsweek magazine reports that some members of Congress are mulling over the possibility of re instating a limited draft. There is good reason to consider a return to such a program. First, the Army now is costing more. The 1974 military budget includes $43.6 billion for manpower costs, or about 55 per cent of the total military allotment. But the price hdsn't gone up riup to increased manpower; the Army now has about 1.2 million fewer personnel than it did in 1968. In 1968, manpower costs were $32.6 billion. In other words, after figuring in inflation, the U.S. now is paying about 30 per cent more for about 33 per cent fewer personnel. The increasing cost of recruiting also is giving some military supporters cause to worry. They believe that recruitment funds will be taken from other areas, such as weapons development. The costs also are bothering some congressmen who traditionally have not backed heavy military spending. They fear that the billions of dollars being spent to maintain a volunteer Army are being poured down a bottomless hole. They also believe that a return to the draft would free that money for desperately needed domestic reforms. The second strike against the all-volunteer ml V i 1 .' -Y Sti(,u7 $7 ()&.$'. 111 W Not a bird, not a plane, not Santa; it's...unidentified flying president The ,jf"f,t Gallup poll-, reveal that 51 per cent of the American public believe in flying suacers while 2'J per cent believe in the- ProsifJont. Thi', finding has shocked scientists. "There have h'-oi a number of confirmed sightings by rolhWe observer., including pilots, polke and even newsmen," r..jid Dr. Homer T. Pettibone. "I can't understand why so many ik-;pt ical Americans still refuse to lx;lic-ve." In flying saucers? "No," he '..iid, "in the President." Dr. Pettibone Mends the investigation of reports of Unidentified Flyinrj Presidents-or UFPs. He attributes the public's incredulity to the more vjnsation.il stories about the phenomena that have appeared in the press. orthur noppe mnocen slander An example v. as the ireent strange adventure of tvo Buuii.iloo'ui, Miss., men, Fd M.jdd ,niii Hr.r; Wooluey Though both vveic kibbling d-id incolieieni, thi, inui:h of their ul" could be piccul together. M'"''1 ' V'' v.-rv: fi.hing on F.'itb.jt.k Cic;-k vvheii .i helicuptei hoverfd ovcthiMd. A peculiar fitjure wu.irinj rosy in,jh;up .tpiK.Mied in the doorway and with geMnri". di-.t'irhi-i'ilv cut t f ' , "..I it ..miatioi . cullt'd out : "Hi, there, my folkv American. And you, too, my other fellow Amcricar, I am your President, your coach and your quartei )ack. I am not a crook." The President, f- said, slapped them on their cheeks and shoved .n into the flying device. There, they said, he talk-' ;cr an hour about how lie 'nc! thought them ' ce with honor," high prices, prosperity, short ,, detente and an energy crisis, many of which t Congress' fault. Ho appeared trying to be fi icik1 , they said. The trouble began, they said, when he got on the subject of tapes. "I have all nine tapes in perfect condition," he said, pounding his desk, "including two that are missing and seven which can't be understood. And any deaf senator with only two bullet holes in him is welcome to them over my dead body. "I have no mote bombshells like tl,t, casuro of 18 minutes on one of these tapes. I now will demonstrate how easily this could happen. First, I push this red button on my desk with my tight foot as my left finger pushes the block one while my left foot depresses the floor pedal, during which I reach around behind my neck with my right hand to pick up the phone . . . Help! Get me out of this'" Mudd and Wuolsey s,tii they seized this opportunity to escape. Hypnosis and lie detector tests determined that the two men not only actually believed they had seen a President, but that they were Ix.dly frightened by the experience. Such sensational accounts tend to overshadow more credible reports, according to Dr. Putibone. "It's a shame," he said. "In these perilous times Americans really should believe in something." In the President? "No," said Dr. Pettibone. "in flying saucers." Cui'vrl'ihl r:hroni(..-I'uhljihliHi Cu. I'J.'J force is the quality of the men being recruited. In July, for example, 31 per cent of all Army volunteers scored low on mental qualification tests. In June, 13 per cent scored low. It also appears that there no longer is the cross-section of the American people which once made up the Armed Forces. Now there are more than twice the number of poor people and blacks in uniform than before the all-volunteer force. Congress should consider a return to a modified draft system. With some reforms, the old draft laws could be more fair and offer more alternatives to those who opposed serving in the armed forces. Establishing an equitable system would allow more tax money to be spent on domestic problems and stop what appears to be a trend toward the poor serving in place of the more affluent. Michael (O.J.) Nelson fro I'h QOiXOf Keep off the sidewalk Dear editor, Not too long ago, you drew your editorial sword against the hasty "put 'em where they ain't" architectural mentality of this university. You stand on well-defended ground, but there's another side to the old blueprint you failed to mention. The 40,000 feet that daily thunder across campus continually wander from the straight and narrow sidewalk, resulting in dirt paths that kill what little grass this place has. This contributes to playing down the already limited aesthetic atmosphere we seem to be mired in. But I have a possible solution to the problem. (Listening, regents?) Why not tear up all the,, sidewalks anc, mqke them ,lirt paths? Then we could put in concrete to replace all the grass that nobody seems to warft anyway. Gtoundskeeping costs would be reduced dramatically, since concrete doesn't need mowing and raking, and the money could be spent towards developing more eye-pleasing campus buildings. Makes sense, doesn't it? John Schmidt Coalition criticism Dear editor, At long last it has happened. UNL's resident mouthpiece for off-beat, acerbic comment has unleashed his diatribe at the "motley" Coalition for Impeachment of Richard Nixon (Daily Nebraska, Dec. 5). We didn't know we were in such sad shape. Are we really "unsavory" characters? Never mind the personal attacks, though. John Vihstadt's views usually are predictable. In this case, we may owe him some small thanks for opening up the matter in the university news media. One factual discrepancy in the column ought to cleared up, though. We seriously doubt thf. our organization is so powetful as to "monopolize the media" as Vihstadt accuses. If the issue of impeachment is dominating the media (rather unlikely during the present energy crisis), the reasons would be that important information on Nixon's actions is available, and news editors see fit to make it generally known. We in the Coalition for Impeachment of Richard Nixon, have organized to fulfill a significant need for expressing Nebraskans' concern that Nixon may be guilty of immoral conduct and alleged crimes. A number of us are quite sure that the man is an unconscionable, moral pervert and calling him "criminal" is euphemistic. Some of us are willing to forego the name-calling and work strictly for a full and ox;n examination of Nixon's activities. Such an inquiry would have been necessary if the man were not president. The fact that he is president makes such scrutinization doubly important. Richard Nixon must be impeached. The reasons for Nixon's impeachment are so many lhat the coalition has printed a free handout giving various individuals' and organizations' views on the matter. These are available now by calling any of the coalition leaders. , . Sam Zeleski uoantion lor Impeachment of Richard Nixon P'je 4 r,-'iy nrl)tosk;in friday, demnber 7, 1973