The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 07, 1971, Image 1

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    Che Battalion
Clear
and
warmer
Vol. 66 No. 107
College Station, Texas
Wednesday, April 7, 1971
Friday —> Partly cloudy. Winds
northerly 15-20 mph. High 71°,
low 66°.
845-2226
Galley’s prosecutor
hits Nixon’s review
The old and the new change places at the Memorial Student Council and Directorate
Banquet Tuesday night. Outgoing president Thomas C. Fitzhugh (left) turned over his
position to John Dacus, the new one. (Photo by Larry Martin)
MSC programs to serve
students, Dacus reminds
Is
>.d
.So
SO
si
By FRAN ZUPAN
Battalion Managing Editor
The time is now for Memorial
Student Council and Directorate
members to realize that MSC pro
grams are not theirs alone, John
Dacus, President of the Council
and Directorate for 1971-72 said
at the MSC Awards Banquet
Tuesday night.
“It (the MSC program) is not
a place for cliques or those who
are self-seeking,” he said. “We
are here to serve the students.”
Unless the Council and Direct
orate recognize student needs and
responds to them with positive
action, its existence cannot be
justified, Dacus told the MSC
ballroom audience of 300 in a 10-
minute speech.
“If the MSC program cannot
bear fine scrutiny with creditable
marks, then it should and will be
changed,” he continued. “Hope
fully areas such as community
improvement and increased ser
vice to day students and married
students can be explored and con
structive steps taken to remedy
problems.”
Dacus, himself, is a day stu
dent.
The MSC must be a source of
organization and resources for
students who want practical ex
perience in politics, sociology and
the arts, he said.
Dacus said he sees his role as
next year’s MSC president as a
provider of guidance.
“Rules that have no meaning
and arbitrary decisions have no
place among intelligent men and
women,” he said. “I hope to be
able to direct without ordering.”
The MSC program must reach
out to embrace new ideas, the
junior electrical engineering ma
jor said.
“Efforts must be made to se
cure input from other areas be
side our own circle,” Dacus
stressed. “One of our responsibil
ities must be that of striving to
communicate with those who par
ticipate in our program, but per
haps more important is that of
becoming aware of the objections
held by those whom we do not
usually reach.
“We seek to involve those who
feel a need for involvement. Yet
we also understand and support
the position of those who do not
wish to join us. With this reser
vation, the Council and Direct
orate will work for total student
involvement. The Directorate is
not a sacred shrine for all to wor
ship, but a working body. It can
and will include many more var
ied activities than it now em
braces.”
Commandos raid Ho trail
Iji riding in U. S. helicopters
)
J
SAIGON (AP) — Behind a
giant smoke screen, South Viet
namese commandos riding U. S.
helicopters made a lightning raid
Tuesday against a North Viet
namese base on the Ho Chi Minh
trail in Laos and quickly pulled
out with no casualties, Saigon
headquarters announced.
It was the second such hit-run
raid in a week.
A communique Wednesday said
a 200-man company of highly
trained Hac Bao-Black Panther-
troops found the bodies of 15
i^orth Vietnamese soldiers ap
parently killed by U. S. air
strikes. They destroyed 17 AK47
assault rifles, two 12.7mm anti
aircraft guns, one 37mm antiair
craft gun, nine tons of rice, one
ton of other foodstuffs, and 10
storage huts, the communique
said. An earlier announcement
said South Vetnamese casualties
were light, but the later com
munique said there were no cas
ualties.
Although a small-scale opera
tion, the raid apparently was
staged for a larger psychological
reason: to demonstrate to Hanoi
that the South Vietnamese can
strike at will into Laos despite
their premature and sometimes
disorderly withdrawal from the
February-March drive in Laos.
The U. S. Command said it
had no reports of any U. S. heli
copters being shot down while
supporting the strike in Southern
Laos 19 miles southeast of the
border outpost of the Lao Bao.
The raid was made near the
transshipment point of Tavouac
about 14 miles from the Viet
namese border, Tavouac lies near
the junctions of Routes 92 and
Dr. Radeleffwins
city council spot
One A&M staff member won a position on the College Station
City Council in the city election Tuesday, and two faculty members
lost.
Elected to Place 5 was Dr. Rudolph Radeleff, veterinary
toxicology director with 639 votes. Ed Miller was second with 289;
Robert Knapp, third with 201.
Elected to Place 1 was Fred Brison with 887 votes. Mrs. C. H.
Godfrey was second with 151, and E. W. Oxley, biology graduate
assistant, was third with 139.
Don Dale won Place 2 with 574 votes. Joseph McGraw, urban
planning professor, was second with 397 votes. Thomas Chaney was
third with 202 votes.
A suit filed last summer by about 20 College Station citizens
against five city councilmen who received state funds from the
university is pending in a civil appeals court in Austin.
The 53rd District Court in Austin earlier decided in favor of the
College Station citizens, and all state funds were cut off while the
appeal is pending. The faculty members have been paid out of local
funds. They have been warned the practice may end when their current
terms expire.
WASHINGTON b*’)—Capt. Au
brey M. Daniel III, prosecutor
in the trial of Lt. William L. Gal
ley Jr., has written President
Nixon that his intervention in
the case—“in the midst of pub
lic clamor” — has damaged the
system of military justice.
Reached by telephone at Ft.
Benning, Daniel refused to dis
cuss the letter, saying “public
ity was not my purpose in writ
ing it.”
Daniel said in a letter to the
President, with copies to six sen
ators, that he was shocked and
dismayed at Nixon’s action. He
said it opened the system of mili
tary justice to charges “that it
is subject to political influence
He asked also whether Nixon
had considered the effect of his
intervention on the six military
jurors who convicted Galley of
premeditated murder.
Daniel said Nixon has en
hanced the image of Galley “as
a national hero . . .”
He said it would have been
more appropriate for Nixon to
speak in behalf of the jurors,
and to “remind the nation of the
purpose of our legal system and
respect it should command . . .
“For this nation to condone
the acts of Lt. Galley is to make
us no better than our enemies
and make any pleas by this na
tion for the humane treatment
of our own prisoners meaning
less,” Daniel wrote.
Galley was convicted of the
premeditated murder of 22 South
Vietnamese civilians in the My
Lai incident—which, Daniel not
ed, Nixon once said “appears was
certainly a massacre.”
“In view of your previous
statements concerning this mat
ter, I have been particularly
shocked and dismayed at your
decision to intervene in these
proceedings in the midst of the
public clamor.”
Nixon first ordered Galley re
leased from the stockade at Ft.
Benning, Ga., after his convic
tion and sentencing Thursday to
life imprisonment. He directed
that Galley be held in a military
version of house arrest.
Then, on Saturday, the White
House announced that the Presi
dent intends to review the final
military judgment in the case.
“Your decision can only have
been prompted by the response
of a vocal segment of our popu
lation, who while no doubt act
ing in good faith, cannot be
(See Galley, page 3)
Mayfield receives Rountree
By BRUCE BLACK
Battalion Staff Writer
H. Davis Mayfield III was nam
ed recipient of the 1971 Thomas
Rountree Award in the Awards
Banquet of the 21st Memorial
Student Center Council and Di
rectorate Tuesday night.
Mayfield, a graduate student
in Business, acted as chairman of
SCONA XVI to solve grave fi
nancial problems and introduce a
new topic and inner organization
which helped to make the project
successful.
The Thomas Rountree Award
recognizes and honors the out
standing student of the council
or directorate whose dedication
and contribution to the recrea
tional, educational, and cultural
programs which have brought dis
tinction to the MSC.
“I am reminded of the fable
of the man riding a tiger and who
is afraid to get off,” Scott H.
Roberts said in presenting the
award to Mayfield. Roberts is the
1968 award winner.
“The recipient of this award is
922, two key arteries of the Ho
Chi Minh trail. Route 922 is the
main east-west highway leading
into the A Shau Valley.
Elsewhere, North Vietnamese
troops kept up pressure against
U. S. and South Vietnamese for
ces in the northern and central
sectors of South Vietnam. De
layed reports told of heavy fight
ing in eastern Cambodia.
The U. S. Command reported
three shelling attacks against
American positions in the north
ern sector and along the central
coastal plain. A communique said
no U. S. troops were killed but 15
Americans were wounded in the
three attacks. Damage was de
scribed as light.
South Vietnamese headquarters
reported a new outbreak of fight
ing in the southern central high
lands near a fire base called Lone
ly, 31 miles southeast of Pleiku
City. A communique said 21
North Vietnamese troops were
killed in sporadic fighting two
miles southwest of the base Tues
day. South Vietnamese losses
were reported as one man killed
and four wounded.
The South Vietnamese commun
ique also claimed in a delayed re
port that 256 North Vietnamese
troops were killed in fighting
Monday and Tuesday near the
Cambodian town of Snuol on
Highway 7. Snuol is about eight
miles from Vietnam’s border. It
liese 90 miles north of Saigon and
110 miles northeast of Phnom
Penh.
The claim was open to ques
tion since only three weapons
were reported captured. The U.
S. Command, which has commit
ted the full range of air support
to the drive in Cambodia, con
firmed that at least 48 North
Vietnamese troops were killed by
U. S. air strikes.
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.”
—Adv.
H. Davis Mayfield received the Memorial Student Cen
ter Council’s Thomas Rountree Award at the MSC Awards
Banquet Tuesday night. (Photo by Larry Martin)
Dust Bowl conditions
riding a tiger, and I hope he can
stay on till it drops.”
Mayfield, who graduated from
A&M in Architecture and Envi
ronmental Design, served as
scholastic officer of Company G-l,
was vice chairman of the Student
Senate Constitutional Revision
Committee and was selected to
represent A&M in Who’s Who in
American Colleges and Universi
ties. This year he participated in
the Camera and Political Forum
Committees, and was chairman
of the Travel Committee’s first
“Ski the Alps-1970” venture.
Hal W. Gaines, program advi
sor in the Student Programs of
fice of the MSC, was presented
the Lawrence Sullivan Ross
Award.
The award, which is given only
when the Award Selection Com
mittee feels an individual deserves
consideration, recognizes out
standing service over a lengthy
period of time.
“It is impossible to pass by the
programs office without noticing
a steady stream of students com
ing and going from his office re
lying on advice, as a friend and
at times as a co-worker,” Tom C.
Fitzhugh, MSC Council president
said in presenting the award.”
Gaines serves as an advisor to
the Town Hall Committee and ad
visor to class officers and the
Aggie Cinema. ,
Paul Scopel, a senior market
ing student, is the recipient of
the Elizabeth Todd Chapman
Award, which is being awarded
this year only in memory of Mrs.
Elizabeth Chapman, the late head
of the Graphics Art Department
who died in an auto accident last
summer.
Scopel is chairman of the Pub
lic Relations Organization, serv
ed on the Travel Committee,
SCONA, Great Issues, the Uni
versity Parking Committee, and
was selected in representing A&M
in the Who’s Who in American
Colleges and Universities.
“In a sincere effort to project
the MSC into the lives of our stu
dent body and university commu
nity, this Aggie has spent hours
of his time at work in this build
ing,” Charles Hoffman said in
presenting the award to Scopel.
“Much of what he has done, he
learned from Liz Chapman.”
Other accolades included class
awards for freshman William E.
Fore, of the Host and Fashion
Committee; Sophomore Benjamin
H. Thurman, who will be chair
man of SCONA XVII; and junior
John C. Dacus, 1970-71 chairman
of the MSC Council.
Distinguished service awards
for students were awarded to
Thomas C. Fitzhugh III, 1970-71
MSC Council President; Glenda
F. Freeman, Chairman of the
Host and Fashion Committee;
Charles R. Hoffman, Chairman of
the Political Forum Committee;
William S. Leftwich, Chairman of
the Town Hall Committee; and
James W. Russell HI, of Great
Issues Chairman.
Distinguished service Awards
for non-students were presented
to Dean John B. Beckham of the
MSC Council; Dean John E. Pear
son, SCONA XVI advisor; and
Dr. William W. Saitta, political
Forum Committee Advisor.
Drought enters seventh month
DALLAS, Tex. (AP) — A
drought of severe depth and
strength now has gone into its
seventh month in the Southwest.
One crop is dead or badly dam
aged. Prospects for a successful
spring planting seem remote. Cat
tle suffer.
This is shown Wednesday in a
survey of conditions generally
west of the Mississippi River.
But the damage seems j con
fined to the southern tier of states
—Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Arizona and Southern California.
Heavy snows saved regions far
ther north.
The San Antonio, Tex., stock-
yards presented evidence of the
severity when 4,300 cattle flood
ed facilities on one day this week.
Cattlemen at San Antonio said
the large supply came from
ranchers thinning their herds be
cause of a lack of spring graz
ing and water.
Almost everywhere the drought
has hit, ranchers are feeding
their cattle from trucks and some
are reduced to hauling water for
the animals to drink.
Some wheat farmers find that
their crop already is gone, while
others expect only a fraction of
the normal harvest.
And farmers note that it is
time, or nearly time, to plant cot
ton and grain sorghum. There
isn’t enough moisture in the
ground to germinate the seed.
Any chance of late rainfall sav
ing the situation? “The 30-day
outlook is not encouraging,” said
Robert Orton, Texas climatologist
for the National Weather Service.
Reason for the drought, said
Jeter Pruett of the Weather Ser
vice at Fort Worth, is that the
succession of high and low pres
sure areas-which create winds—
have not swept south far enough
to bring moisture up from the
Gulf of Mexico.
Many areas have received less
than 10 per cent of the normal
rainfall since September. And
since the Southwest needs near
ly normal rain to make even a
fair crop, any such lack of mois
ture can bring disaster.
Charles Lasater, a dairyman in
Tarrant, County, Tex., said he
never has seen such a dry season.
“I’m having to feed at almost
full capacity,” said Lasater,
“doubling the cost of hay to $20
a day more to feed the herd.”
Any dry spell recalls to farm
ers’ minds the Dust Bowl days of
the 1930s and the seven-year
drought of the 1950s. Farms were
abandoned many places in those
years.
The Agriculture Department
says that in the 1950s, nine mil
lion acres were in such bad con
dition they could suffer or had
under gone wind damage—from
lack if moisture and vegetation to
hold the soil. And only two
weeks ago, the department said
seven million acres are in the
same condition.
Here is the state-by-state situ
ation:
NEW MEXICO: The major vis
ible effect has been the many
small fires in forests. The for
ests now are under restrictions—
no campfires except in certain de
veloped campgrounds and no
smoking on trails.
Most of New Mexico’s rain
comes in the summer, but 1970
was dry and only about half the
normal rainfall has occurred in
1971.
Said George Gregg of Albu-
purque’s National Weather Ser
vice, “It’s pretty desperate in the
south . . . You’ll note the first
three months are a continuation
of a relatively dry 1970 except
with a greater deficiency in the
south-central and south-east.”
OKLAHOMA: Ponds and lakes
are shrunken by a third, with
some stock ponds only puddles
now. Little or no moisture brown
mites and green bugs have just
about done in the wheat crop,
while farmers can’t prepare for
spring-planted crops because the
land is too dry.
Oldtimers say the Southwest
Oklahoma situation is as bad or
worse than in 1936, the worst
year of the Dust Bowl years when
the land became sand dunes.
The Dust Bowl itself, in the
Oklahoma Panhandle, strangely
is in good shape now because of
a late winter snowstorm.
Farmers were fearful when
1970 turned out to be drier than
usual. Some already are plowing
up their wheat—if any was left—
and others may do the same un
less good rains come within days.
TEXAS: Ranges are providing
little or no grazing and cattle
men are feeding their animals
and hauling water, hoping for
rain so that they will not have
to sell off their herds.
The best time for spring plant
ing has passed or is rapidly ap
proaching. Some farmers have
dry ground hoping for moisture.
Others are waiting for a little
rain. Wheat growers in Central
Texas are plowing up the crop.
Gov. Preston Smith has asked
federal aid for 60 far South coun
ties because of the drought.
ARIZONA: “The whole south
ern half of the state is in real
bad shape,” says Dick Enz of the
U. S. Soil Conservation Service.
“There’s a lot of wind but lit
tle rain,” said Paul Williamson of
the Department of Agriculture.
“There’s a lot of supplemental
feeding of livestock now, and
more hauling of water. The east
ern water reservoirs just didn’t
fill up.”
Snow just didn’t fall below the
9,500-foot level in the mountains
and rivers are expected to be at
their lowest in the last 8 to 15
years.
Banking is a pleasure at First
Bank & Trust.
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