Monday, January 19, 1970
The
Human
Condition
By DOUG SCOTT
As these words are written,
snow is falling on Guilford Col
lege. Greensboro is sliding to a
stop. The facinating Piedmont is
covered.
Some fun loving male students
are having a running battle with
snowballs. A few of their com
patiots are celebrating winter
by rolling motorcycles into the
woods, stopping only when it ap
pears that they might be caught
by the authorities; a delightful
game of cops and robbers en
sues.
Residents of New Men's dorm,
renouned for their spirit and
zeal serenade the girls of Shore
with various songs of winter;
curiously enough, they are all
prefixed with "We Want." No
garbage or fireworks were
thrown and a jolly time was had
Stam Explains Corporate Problems
by CARLA McKINNEY
Mr. Paul Stam, research di
rector with Burlington In
dustries, spoke last Tuesday
night in the leadership seminar
on the topics of industrial re
sponsibility in environmental
control, consumer protection, the
decade ahead and the role of in
dustrial research scientists.
Mr. Stam told the group that
Burlington would announce the
next day, Wednesday, that it had
created the post of medical di
rector in an effort to solve the
textile industry's problem with
"brown lung" among its em
ployees. Biosis, which has
currently been given much at
tention through the efforts of
Ralph Nader and others, is ap
parently, according to Stam, an
allergic disease aggravated by
the dust in the mills.
Burlington which has tried to
remedy the situation by air con
ditioning and screening em
ployees who would be most
susceptible to "brown lung," de
clined, as did the other large
textile mills to work jointly with
the unions to study the problem.
According to Mr. Stam, the in
dustries felt that a more objective
study could be made without the
unions who represent only a low
percentage of the textile workers.
GOV'T. RULES NECESSARY
The textile industry, said Stam,
generally recognizes a need for
a certain product on the market,
then develops it. In the case of
flame resistant fabrics, however,
the consumer is often not will
ing to pay the extra cost required
in the manufacturing of these ma
terials. According to Stam, the
"voice of the consumer is not
easy to understand." He sees
government regulations concern
ing flamability of fabrics, and
noise and dust levels in fac
tories as perhaps the only pos
sible way for effective controls.
If, for example, flamability stan
dards were required the cost nf
the processes involved would be
driven down so the consumer
would be more likely to buy the
by all who attended. Vile rumors
were spread, however, about
broken glass.
When Guilford's favorite rent
a-cop appeared on the scene,
he was playfully plummeted with
snow. His cop mobile made an
exciting target. This, of course,
is a sign of favor, similar to
hitting the little girl next to you
in the fourth grade. Guilford
College, as everyone knows, is
a fortress of "law and order."
The evening's activities were
brought to a halt with the ap
pearance of the Guilford County
Sheriff. Someone, knowing that
the sheriffs like to get in on such
jolly gatherings, invited them.
However, the officers were up
set that they had not been called
earlier so they ended the party.
When snow falls, many things
are covered and whitewashed.
But not everything.
safer product. In Stam's view
the solutions to all problems in
industry--pollution, consumed
and employee protection —must
feasibilty and a real under
standing of the problem."
FOREIGN COMPETITION
Cost is also a big question
in the area of foreign compe
tition. In Japan and India, es
pecially where labor is much
cheaper, comparable quality pro
ducts can be produced much
cheaper.
Tariffs, according to Stam,
have failed to do the job; in the
last ten years he estimates that
foreign competition cost the A
merican labor force between
75,000 and 80,000 jobs. Despite
lobbies in Washington, the in
dustry feels that they still have
no effective controls.
Burlington sees, as have many
industries, that the solution to
the cheaper production cost in
other countires, might be to set
up their own production mills in
those countries. According to
Stam, however, Burlington feels
a responsibility to this country
and to North Carolina.
TEAM RESEARCH PREFERRED
Asked about the pros and cons
of the job as industrial research
scientist, Stam spoke of indi
vidual versus team effort and the
lack of complete freedom in re
search choosing projects. Bur
lington prefers the team ap
proach to research, but trys al
ways to approach each question
at an individual level.
Their industry is organiz
however, so that an individual
scientist can work on his own
project without having compli
cated justification procedures to
the company; he has a cartt
blanche up to a SIOOO.
Stam reported that Burlington
looked to 1970 as a hard year
for profits, but saw the new de
cade with great possibilities.
THE GUILFORDIAN
Lottery Unsatisfactory;
Volunteer Army Soon
WASHINGTON (CPS)
Whether the lottery will con
tinue after 1970 is up to Con
gress.
In announcing the random se
lection process, President Nixon
said, "I would say that looking
to the future...we shall not be
satisfied until we finally can
have the system which I advo
cated during the campaign of a
completely volunteer armed for
ces."
But Nixon has also said in
stitution of a volunteer army is
not feasible until the Vietnam
War is ended, and, at the cur
rent rate of troop withdrawal,
that isn't likely to happen very
soon. And though the president
has made the volunteer army
one of his principal issues, neg
ative reports from a special
presidential commission on the
armed forces or the National
Security Council—both of which
are studying the concept of a
voluntary army -- could post
pone further any executive action
on the plan.
So the burden for any quick
change rests with Congress.Sen.
Draft Lottery Attacked
By College Press
WASHINGTON -- (CPS)
College newspaper editors aren't
buying the draft lottery.
Editorial reactions to the in
duction-by-birthdate system in
itiated by the Nixon administra
tion have ranged from half
hearted acceptance to anger at
the government for making false
promises, to outright condemna
tion of the draft in any form.
Small college papers have been
especially vehement in the de
nunciations. "The Knox College
Student" saw the lottery merely
as a deceptive packaging of the
old draft, and as another example
of the influence of the "bloated"
and "corrupt" military on A
merican life.
"It is frightening.. .to see the
sickening contradictions between
the ideals of free men and reality
of the Selective Service System,"
the "Student" wrote. "We are
told that we must give up for a
part of our lives our God given
John Stennis, chairman of the
Armed Services Committee,
promised last fall that his group
would open extensive hearings
on the draft in mid-February.
Stennis gave the promise in
exchange for a pledge from Senate
draft critics, including Sen. Ed
ward Kennedy, that they would
approve a revision in the Se
lective Service Act to per
mit the lottery without de
bating other aspects of the mat
ter. The administration desired
quick approval of the lottery so it
could be put in effect for 1970.
So the lottery, approved 382-
13 in the House, was passed by
a voice vote in the Senate
largely because it seemed prob
ably more far-reaching reforms
could be debated fully this year.
DEFERMENTS ABOLISHED?
Reforms tobe contemplated in
clude abolishment of the student
deferments, establishment of al
ternate service in social work fa
those who oppose military
service of a particular war, for
bidding the assignment of a non-
PAUL STAM
freedom, our individuality, our
birthright as Americans.
"Why? So that we night pro
tect ourselves from those who
take our freedom, our individu
ality, and our birthright." The
paper said the greatest threat
to peoples' freedom in the world
today is the U.S. military. Knox
College is a coed liberal arts
school of about 1,300 in Illinois.
"The University News" at St.-
Louis University, a private in
stitution of some 6,000 wrote:
"The greatest mis justice of the
former system still remains, that
is the draft itself. Those who
have previously opposed the draft
will continue to do so. .because
they realize that the lottery still
does not allow the freedom of
choice with respect to military
service."
Tying the draft into Viet
nam war, the paper said, "They
(enemies of the draft) wonder
what kind of perverted priorities
Page 3
volunteer to Vietnam, and es
tablishment of a volunteer army
except when Congress declares
war.
A recent poll taken by the
Christian Science Monitor indi
cated a strong majority of legis
lators in both houses favored
an all-volunteer armed services.
But a good majority predicted al
so the volunteer concept prob
ably wouldn't be instituted un
til after the Vietnam War. 5U
per cent of the representatives
and 30 per cent of the senators
responded to the survey.
AMNESTY TO OBJECTORS
Representatives Edward Koch,
Shirley Chisholm and Leonard
Farberstein, all New York Dem
ocrats, offered amendments to the
lottery proposal during the fall.
They are expected to renew their
assault on the Selective Service.
Koch's proposed legislation
would permit "selective con
scientious objection" to wars
and would give amnesty to those
who have fled to Canada or are
currently in jail as a result of
draft resistance.
Student leaders, including Dan
Siegel, student body president
of California at Berkeley, and
Charles Palmer, NSA president,
have spoken out against the lot
tery's alleged unfairness in de
ferring students, who, by virtue
of their affluence, are more
likely to avoid conscription than
the poor and Black.
Currently, approximately two
thirds of the military's man
power needs are met by volun
teers, and since 1950 the Navy,
Air Force, National Guard,
Coast Guard and Marines have
been maintained almost exclus
ively by volunteers.
BLEAK OUTLOOK FOR 19
YEAR OLDS
If the Congress does not en
act significant reforms in 1970,
prospects appear bleak for 19-
year-olds under the lottery sy
stem in 1971. This year's pool
consists of 19-26-year-olds, but
1971's pool will consist only of
19-year-olds plus those losing
student or occupational defer
ments.
If 1971's draft call is in the
neighborhood of 200,000--which
it has been during the past three
years—then virtually every 1-A
19-year-old who isn't in school
will be drafted. According to
Capt. William Pascoe, Selective
Service Chief Information Of
ficer, about 1.8 million will turn
19 during 1970, qualifying them
for the 1971 pool and a lottery
number.
About half that number will
be unfit, either physically or
mentally. Subtracting those who
receive deferments, those who
volunteer for other services, and
those who take steps to avoid the
draft, the total remaining—plus
graduating seniors--may very
well not be enough to meet the
year's draft call.
If the total isn't enough, Pas
coe said, the Selective Service
would induct those who turn 19
during 1971. These people, who
wouldn't have lottery numbers,
1 would ordinarily be included in
the 1972 pool. If more men were
needed, he said, this order of
induction would be followed:
1. Kennedy husbands--those
deferred for being marriedprior
to 1965.
2. Non-volunteers 26 and old
y er.
r 3. 18 1/2 -19-year-olds,
s (Continued on Page 5)