Rally Climaxes Peaceful Protest
Yesterday's protest against the Vietnam war drew to a dramatic, peaceful climax in Ann Arbor last night when a dozen speakers, including Sen. Philip A. Hart, D-Mich., addressed an excited crowd of about 20,000 in Michigan Stadium. The themes of national unity and disunity were both pursued. "This country is more divided than at any time since the Civil War. The only way to unite it is to end the agony of Vietnam," declared Doug Fraser of the United Auto Workers. Hart predicted: "Those who are not with us tonight, who feel we do a disservice to our country, will eventually acknowledge they should have been here." The senator demanded an "inflexible due date, a schedule," for withdrawal of U.S'. troops from Vietnam, and urged war protesters: "Let us not d i sband to celébrate when the war ends. Promise we will stay together . . . so we can stop pouring an incredible proportion of resources into the Pentagon and stop our incredible indifference to the rest." Standing o v a t i o n s were granted by the crowd to Hart and one other speaker, Thomas Hayden, a former U-M student and a founder of Students for a Democratie Society (SDS) who is now one of the "Chicago 8" on trial for allegedly crossing state lines to incite a riot at last year's Democratie Convention. Hayden also drew the nearest effort to a counterdemonstration seen at the stadium when a man near the speakers' platform spit at Hayden and was removed by Ann Arbor pólice. The most specific local expression of opposition to the "moratorium" was voiced by William Clark, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 423. He contacted The News to point out that a recent VFW convention in Philadelphia approved a resolution opposing "a very small minority undermining the bargaining position of our President" and urging "that our government continue to seek victory in Vietnam." Other opposition to the moratorium by some residents: headlights of cars on during the daytime, porch lights on at night, the flying of American flags, and a "win the war" sign attached to the facade of a downtflwn hnsinpss Prior to the spitting incident, I Hayden said in ironie tones he finds it strange "we are told by I Vice President 'Spiral' (Spiro) I Agnew that North Vietnam is I meddling in the internal affairs I of the United States." Hayden asserted: "We do need some kind of help. Nixon, Johnson, Eisenhower, and as ' far back as you want to go, have been the real intruders, involving us in a war Americans are just finding out about." U. S. Rep. John Conyers, DDetroit, c a 1 1 e d yesterday's "moratorium" a "turning point for everybody interested in a new social order in this country." He committed himself to vote "against all military procurement acts until we re-order the insanity of giving $70 billion to the Defense Department." The theroe of looking beyond yesterday's events to further anti-war protests, and beyond the end of the war to basic changes in U. S. foreign and domestic policies, was also pursued by several other speakers including state Sen. Roger Craig, D-Dearborn, E u g e n e Charles of the Black Panthers, economics Prof. Douglas Dowd of Cornell University, who is a New Mobilization leader, and I U-M geogïaphy Prof. Rhoades I W. Murphey, a leader in a 1 tion drive calling for withdrawal I of U. S. forces from Vietnam I by July 4, 1970. Another leader in the petition drive, Bruce Reynolds, a U-M gradúate student in economics, said today 10,000 signatures have been gathered on the petitions in the Ann Arbor area by about 500 workers- 1,000 at the stadium last night, 6,000 in city residential areas, 2,000 at the U-M campus and downtown, 1,000 from Saline, Chelsea, Dexter, Brighton and Ypsilanti. I natures are still being collected, I with no deadline set yet for I sending petitions to the White House. A separate petition circulated in the U-M Medical Center yesterday, endorsing the "moratorium" and urging President Nixon "to stop the war . . . bring our troops home," drew 2,005 signatures, anatomy instructor James R. Koski Jr. said today. U-M officials report that normal U-M Hospital activities were not interrupted by the "moratorium." At the stadium, Ann Arbor Mobilization leader Eugene Gladstone emphasized that his group calis for "immediate" withdrawal from Vietnam. He suggested that others calling for withdrawal "in 1970 or sometime later may try to co-opt (take-over) our anti-war movement." Reynolds said today he sees no conflict between "the Mobilization's' wording of 'immediate' and our idea of an eight-month deadline." Gladstone and Dowd urged support for a Nov. 15 maren on Washington planned by New Mobilization. Gladstone predicted "one millinn" will takp part in that protest. He said today about $4,000 was collected in buckets passed through the stadium by New Mobilization workers last night. Ann Arbor city government was represented at the stadium by Third Ward Councilman Nicholas Kazarinoff, who proposed that American women "demand of your father, son, brother, husband or lover . . . that he either conscientiously object or resist military service . . . and withhold your love from any man who refuses." The councilman's revival of the theme of Aristophanes' "The Lysistrata" drew laughs but few cheers from coeds in the crowd. F.arliRr yesterday, about two dozen coeds held a nondisruptive demonstration at the Ann Arbor Selective Service office, asserting "a refusal to cooperate on all levéis - emotional, social and political - with a war effort that seeks to deny to other peoples the right to form their own political and personal identities." They urged local draft board members to go on strike. Overall attendance at U-M classes yesterday was estimated by U-M officials as 60 per cent below normal. Two of the bestattended panel discussions of the war in the afternoon, sponsored by the U-M journalism department and by some medical students and staff, drew separate audiences of nearly 500. History Prof. Jacob M. Price, who spoke in opposition when a resolution urging students to "feel free" to attend the anti-war events was approved by the faculty's Senate Assembly Oct. 6, said yesterday attendance in his classes was below normal, but added he experienced no pressures against holding classes.
Article
Subjects
Roy Reynolds
Michigan Stadium
Rallies
Demonstrations & Protests
Anti-War Movement
Anti-War Protests
Student Protests
University of Michigan - Demonstrations & Protests
Vietnam War
Peace Rally
October 15 1969 Peace Rally
Moratorium To End The War In Vietnam
University of Michigan - Students
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
VFW Auxiliary No. 423
Black Panther Party
Ann Arbor Selective Service Board
Old News
Ann Arbor News
Philip A. Hart
Doug Fraser
Tom Hayden
William Clark
John Conyers
Roger Craig
Eugene Charles
Douglas Dowd
Rhodes Murphy
Bruce Reynolds
James R. Koski Jr
Eugene Gladstone
Nicholas Kazarinoff
Jacob M. Price