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by Jim Skarzynski
rim n wispy." it...

Washington, D.C.-—The possibi»
lity oi the impeachment oi Richard
Nixon is no longer ludicrous or
impossible, Both Housesol Con—
gress in recent days have express
ed the seriousness of their diss
content with the President,

A5 0‘ Satur- —
day as this ar- a net W,
ticle is being wr- PEM‘QNM
itten. the proba- PERSPETEFWE
bility of the House —
impeachlng the
President is difficult to determine.
By the time you read this article,
the House’s intent may have al-
ready been made clearer. But there
is no doubt that if the President
continues to reluse the appointment
of a new independent prosecutor
the probability oi the House making
the historic move to impeach will

increase rapidly.

Even discarding the issue of a
new special prosecutor serious du-
estions still exist regarding the
President‘s ability to govern and
his complicity in illegal and thus
impeachable acts. First, there are
grave doubts about the President’s
integrity. The extent of his knoWr
ledge or direct participation in the
obstruction of justice in the covers
up of the activities of the White
House plumbers has yet to be de~
termined.

The financing of San Clemente
and the President’s payment of ins
come tax in recent years is not
yet lully investigated.

Second, the extent of Nixon’s par-
ticipation in the acceptance of bri-
bes disguised as campaign contri—
butions from the American Dairy
men’s Association, ITT, American
Airlines, MacDonald’s, and Howard

Trustee Price Views Nixon

by Jack Doppelt

“Nixon is coming perilously close
to being incapable of leading the
country," confessed a former spe-
cial assistant to the President.

John R. Price, Jo, former execu—
tive secretary of The Council of
Urban Affairs and trustee of Grins
nell College, made that statement
in an interview while he was attr
ending a meeting of the Board of
Trustees here last weekend.

The former presidential assistant
explained that Nixon severely mis-
calculated the mood of the public,
the press, and Congress when he
fired Cox two weeks ago. ”Nixon
has bought time or deferred it by
turning over the tapes,” Price not
ed. Price emphasized that Nixon
has not wriggled out at trouble yet.

The “cumulative impact” of the
controversies may still catch up
with the President.

Price specified that the Rebozo
Affair may loosen Nixon‘s grip on
the presidency. “The tapes may
have some incriminating evidence,
which might tip the scale in favor
of impeachment,” theGrinnelitrus—
tee added."

JOHN PRICE‘ a

As to the possibility of Nixon
resigning, Price Said that "The
only situation in which he would
resign is if the Congress would
approve Ford." Price believes that
Nixon would never allow his rightv
ful mandate to be turned over to
the Democrats. Although not likely
either, Nixon would be more wills
ing to step down it he were as,
ured that his programs would be
continued.

When asked if or when he would

" .advise Nixon to step down, Price,

a prominentindependentRepublican,
replied, “l’m close to advising re-
signation right now." Price cited
“the loss of confidence among his
own party" as the force which has
been whittling away at Nixon's own
thinking.

Referring to Nixon’s ability tolead
the Country, Price pointed out that
“Nixon has “squandered a vast
amount of political capital.” HOW-
ever, the former special assistant
to Nixon predicted that "Nixon will

'slide back up il Congress plays

politics with Ford’s confirmation.”

Price was drawn particularly to
the political complexities and Huang
ces of the delayed confirmation of
vice-presidential designate Ford.
He conjectured that Nixon might
not be all that anxious to have Ford

conﬁrmed, fearing that the installr
ation of a vice-president would re—
lieve the pressure on Congress and
speciﬁcally on Carl Albert, whom
Price feels is categorically unlit
to be President. In the event that
Ford is conﬁrmed, Congress and
others might leel secure enough
to really ,place Nixon’s head on the
guillotine.

Price summarized that the confirm
mation of Ford could either be a
“reassuring, stabilizing act” 01" be

'the prevemptive bid for ”one of

the most rapid promotions in na-
tionalhistory. ,

AS a 1910 Grinnell graduate and
Rhodes scholar, Price became one
ol the founders or the RiponSociety,
a bastion of moderate Rep-
ublicanism, while earning his law
degree at Harvard. As executive
secretary of The Council 0! Urban
Affairs, Price met frequently with
Nixon, and worked underJohn Ehrli-
Chman 0n the Domestic Council,
He left the administration in NOV-
ember, 1971 to seek nomination for
Congress in New York. Presently,
he is head of the Department of
Public Responsibility for a New
York bank.

As a person who worked closely
with John Ehrlichman, Price found
him to be "a very easy man to
work for. He organized questions
Clearly and was very supple and
flexible in his own views.”
ironically, Price felt that the Eh-
rlichman of the Watergate hearings
was typical Enrlichman” in many
ways. “Politically, he was always
combative," And Ehrlichman was
probably hurt by his “clear use
or language," especially in cone
trast to the equivocating prose bl
Samuel Dash.’ The only thing that
surprised Price has “the extent
to which Ehrlichman carried the
argument of presidential power.”
The Grinnell trustee commented

, that the most contemptible blemish

of the acne of scandals is ”the
allegation that an incumbent attv
orney general sat and listened to
this lunatic(GordonLiddy)anddidn't
throw him out the window." Price
conceded that once the Watergate
breakrin was uncovered, Mitchel]
might have mentioned the Liddy
conversation to the President.

When asked about the revelations
concerning former Vice-president
Agnew, Price displayed an unchara-

cteristic rage of contempt. “That'

man is as guilty as anyone who
has Come to that town.” Price reSr
ponded to the question of whether
Agnew resigned to avoid criminal
prosecution with a livid, “You’re
bloody well right.”

Price judged that the Agnew inr
vestigation was probably in gear

'before the last election and that

Nixon knew of it, but Chose to
retain Agnew on the ticket.

The former special assistant to
the President feels sorry for Nixon
”because his political career has
been so contentious that the kinds
of people he has attracted are not
the kinds ol people by whom a
President should be surrounded.”
This is complicated by “the.fact
that all presidents are isolated and
Nixon, by temperament, is a very
detached man, similar to Wilson.

Hughes has not yet been lully out~
lined,

Third, his associates, including
Bebe Rebozo, Spiro Agnew, John
Mitchell, Maurice Stans, and his
personal stall have been accused
or illegal acts ranging from the sale
of stolen securities to the misuse
cl campaign lunds.

The list of illegal charges is sure-
ly not complete Nor is the extent
of the President's personal wrong
doing yet known. But what is known
is Nixon's contempt lor the demo»
cratic process, yudicial system,and
the American people. By tailing
to appoint a new independent spe
cial prosecutor (and by firing Cox
in the first place) the President
only lnrther suggests the conceal-
ment of personal guilt.

For these reasons a Committee
to Impeach the Fremont has been
lormed ln Washington, One ol my
prolessors is on the steering group
of this committee and he is op-
timistic about the possibility of
impeachmentﬁif public outrage re
mains intense and mobilized. See
rious efforts to mobilize the'public
in the'Washington area began last
week. ImpeaChthePresidentbumper

THE GRINNELL SCARLET AND BLACK NOVEMBER 2, 1973 PAGE THREE

’A View of Impeachment from Washington

stickers are beginning to pop up
allover in D C.

Although the work of the Commi-
ttee has thus far been local in
nature, It is attempting to unite
with the various Impeach the Pres-
ident groups which have begun to
appear all across the country '

A mass rally was held last week
on the ellipse between the White
House and the Washington MonUs
ment. The rally's principal speaker
was l.F. Stone He told the auds
ience, which was largely composed
of college students, that for awhile
we must forget about grapes and
lettuce and strive to give the im-
peachmeilt move the widest base
of support. He urged students all
across the country to help in the
mobilization movement. Like every-
one else involved in the movement,
he noted that a very well organized
attack supported by a cross sec-
tion of all Americans could bring
the President's impeachment.

After Stone’s speech, the group
of about 1,000 strong, marchedsev—
eral blocks to the White House. The
now familiar "Honk t0 Impeach"
signs abounded, and Pennsylvania
Avenue literally roared with the

N'xon’s New Special A Hit

by Jim Douglas
or In: Sclrlel Ind oiici Washington Bureau

Washington, DC -The “Richard
Nixon Show” premiered October iz
before an eager nationwide audience.
The show, seen on allnetworksdure
ing prime time on Friday evenings,
features a different format each
week and is broadcast live before
a live studio audience.

In the lirst show, Nixon hosted
“This IS Your Life” featuring Ger-
ry Ford as guest star. Gerry seemed
quite surprised; he had thought he
and the wile were going to spend
a quiet evening playing cards at the
Nixon‘s.

Much of the credit for the success
of the evening should go to Ronny
Zeigler, Al Haig, and Mel Laird,
the hosts personal stage managers
and choreographers. From the
carefullyrtimed arrivals of such
notables as jetsetters Hank Kissin-
ger and a ceremonial entrance (fit
lor a King) ol Dick, to the cryptic
preliminary lines, the show reflece
ted their immense talents. Thiswas
the lirst major production lorLaird
and Haig whose predecessors made
guest appearances earlier this year
on the "Sam Ervin Show,”

The format Shifted somewhat in
the second show as Nixon came on
to host “Let's Make a Deal.” in
this game the contestants give the
host a choice oi glvmg up the papr
ers he has in the file cabinet in
front ol him or getting locked bee
hind Door Number 8. The twist
comes when the host decides to
make a deal.

Some trouble developed backstage
on this program, though. The con-
testants refused to accept their prim
zes and had to be removed. The is-

sue has been taken to the Court ox
Public Opinion where oral argu-
ments are still being heard.

Nixon changed things dramatically
last week with the launching of the
“Dickie Nixon Variety Show.” The
special guests came from acrossthe
spectrum of show biz and participar
ted actively when allowed to. The
host dominated the show, but the
guests )oined later forseveralskits.
Topics for the skits included the air
ertness cl America’s military, a
spool on the evening news, and a
song and dance aboutHoward Hughes
and Bebe Rebozo.

Nixon also announced that Bob
Bork would be the guest host for
next week’s show The show will
switch back to the highly success-
ful “This Is Your Life” theme of
the premier. As of this writing
the special guest has not been cho—
sen.

Currently Nixon is toying with
several other ideas for future pro-
grams. impressed with the great
response the test run got two weeks
ago, he is almost certain to air a
full»length version of “The F.B.I.”
in the Very near future. Also in the
works are "I’ve Got A Secret,"
“Truth Dr Consequences," “Mis-
sion Impossible,“ and “Jeopardy."
We are anxiously awaiting word, ol
the date of ”To Tell The Truth.”
You may rememberseeingtnepilots
of some oftheselastspringandsumr
mer.

The Neilson ratings for“TheF.iChe
ard Nixon Show” are reported to
be quite high Lind the fan mail is the
greatest seen in years. However,
some dissatisfiedviewersthinkthat
the show has been in verypoortaste
and are currently lobbying to have
it banned. Their efforts are being
watched with great interest fromthe
resort communities of San Clemente
and Key Biscayne.

sound of car horns.

What is most significant is the
attention the media is beginning
to devote to the movement, Local
television stations devoted close to
a ten minute spot to coverage on
the rally, while national news comm-
entators also made mention of the
day's activities.

Plans are now being made for
either a mass rally (the Committee
is hoping for 100,000) in the very
near future or smaller but per»
haps more important rallies infront
bl Congressmen's home districtolf-
ices, The committee’ssecondmajor
activity in the near future will be»
gin to raise large amounts ofmoney
to support its activities. An office
has already been opened in Wash-
ington,

Several of the Grinnellstudents are
working for the Committee. Jim
Douglass has taken a particularly
active role in helping the commi-
ttee get off the ground. Among his
activities is the congressionalqueSr
tionnare which will be used by the
committee& Nader Raiders to deter-
mine congressional support lor ime
peachment.

One has a certain sense of ex-
hiliration in participating in this
protest action in Washington. You‘
leel a sense ofaCCompllshmentwhen
you are interviewed by the Post and
your comments are printed on the
lront page (with or without your
name.) Somehow I.F. Stone’s plea
to impeach the President takes on
more meaning when you hear his
words standing on the ellipse with
in view Of the White House.

One might have a sense of polir
tical participation in a candle light
march down Park street, but the
leeling is much stronger when stand-
ing on Pennsylvania Avenue in lront
of the White House. We all also
have emoyed callingthe White House-
after what has started to becomethe
President's Friday Night Comedy
Hour to express our disgust with
his policies. What is best, we do
not even have to buy'an eight cent
stamp to do it.

it is important that Grinnell stu—
dents participate in the movement ’
to impeach Nixon. If nothing else,
write your congressman and sen»
ators a letter expressing your feel,
ings on the events of recentmonths.
Try to activate opinion in the town.
Organize a march similar to the
ones held during the Cambodian
bombings to protest the newest Ni-
xon absurdities. It will be difficult,
but it is possible to impeach Nixon.

WATERGATE

from page 1

A letter read, ‘Hl voted lor Rich-
ard Nixon and am very sorry I did
so. I think impeachment proceed—
ings should be begun against him.”

And a presidential supporter
wrote, “Please be patient with the
president _, he needs your sup»
port.”

A telegram to Mezvinsky read,
“Americans deserve sincere, ho
est leadership .. impeachment is
imperative.”
perhaps the depth of public reac-
tion to the recent events in Wash,
ington is summed up best by a
statement lrom the olﬁce ol the
Capitol Hill Post Office.
lt noted that mail to the House ol
Representatives post office -- which
normally runs about one million
letters each month "has doubled
in the past week.

LETTERS

Here are the names and add-
ress of the national elected re»
presentatives who serve Grine
nellians:

The Hon. Ed Mezvinsky

1404 Longworth House Office
Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

The Hon. Dick Clark
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Hon. Harold Hughes
United States Senate

 

