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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1968)
Page 2 THE BATTALION College Station, Texas Wednesday, February 7, 1968 Editorial] CADET SLOUCH by Jim Ekirle I Down To The Nitty Gritty 7777777ZZZ “It’s good to consider all aspects of each course when you’re working out your program, but do you really think the price of required textbooks should be the major factor in selecting courses?” Governor’s Race A Texas Circus “Step right up ladies and gentlemen. Step right up and get your ticket for the biggest show on earth. The Texas political circus has begun. “Our present owner, John Connally, will soon step down and out of circus life, but the show must go on.” The barker is heralding the beginning of the 1968 gubernatorial race in Texas, and the bandwagon is loaded. The Democrats have at least nine candidates, and the Republicans at least three at last count. After Senator Ralph Yarborough announced that he had decided not to run for the post, the stage door swung open for entries from every arena. Billed top act for the Democrats is a battle shaping up between liberal and conservative forces. Houston Lawyer Don Yarborough, a liberal who en tered the race last Saturday, should inherit votes which would have gone to that other Yarborough. But Lt. Gov. Preston Smith must be considered the present front-runner. He announced for the office before Gov. Connally ever announced that he would not seek an other term, and this has given Smith a head start on his opponents. Other Democratic gubernatorial candidates include Dolph Briscoe, 44, a Uvalde rancher and former state representative; Gordon McLendon, 46, Dallas radio-tele vision executive; and Eugene Locke, 49, Dallas lawyer and favorite of both President Johnson and Gov. Connally. Also include Waggoner Carr, 49, former attorney gen eral ; Pat O’Daniel, 49, son of former Gov. W. Lee O’Daniel; John L. Hill, 44, who resigned as Connally’s secretary of state to run for governor; and Edward L. Wittenburg, 39, millionaire Houston banker and businessman. The Republicans have not entered the race as heavily. Their support lies behind Wichita Fall lawyer Paul Eggers, 48, who has never made a political race before. Other Republican hopefuls include John Trice, 35, Dallas lawyer, and comptroller John Bennett of San Antonio, a retired Air Force general and now banker-rancher. Texas voters will be exposed to the virtues of all the candidates through hundreds of political advertisements and pamphlets between now and November. Lacking any dominate candidate on either side, voters will have an even tougher choice to make. Yet from those running a choice must be made, and will be. Some will vote on appearance, others on war records, some on promises and many will flip a coin, yet “the show must go on.” We’re going to get down to the nitty gritty on the Vietnam situ ation in general and draft pro tests in particular. Last December, in response to an inquiry from the “Student Presidents’ and Editors’ State ment on Vietnam,” urging us to join a crusade against the war, we issued an admittedly hasty and somewhat catty editorial in rebuttal. Last week we received another dunning letter from the Movement, which has either missed our “Open Letter” or re fused to consider it as being for real. The latter may be justified; that open letter did leave some thing to be desired, as policy statements go. Maybe if we send them a copy of this they’ll under stand. “DEAR COLLEAGUE,” their recent letter begins. “You will be interested to know that over 400 student presidents and editors have already signed the attached statement opposing the Vietnam war. More signatures come in every day, and we hope that soon the statement will have been signed by the student president and/or editor of every major col lege and university in the United States.” An impressive list of the signers is attached. NOW, COME ON, SPAESOV. We learned about the “Band wagon” propaganda technique back in Journalism 102. If your cause is so all-fired just and sin cere, why do you treat this survey as though you’re gunning for a 100 per cent attendance prize? You send us an enclosed envelope and a brief coupon that would take maybe two minutes to fill out and return, and yet you’re calling for judgment on an issue whose pros and cons are being debated in growing volumes of research. Isn’t that a bit crass? Isn’t it, furthermore, an insult to the intelligence of whoever is supposed to be influenced by the j results? Granted, many of the signers probably are sincerely motivated. But included in that list are the names of almost 80 female editors and presidents, who, with admir able if somewhat ludicrous fervor, have certified their belief that they “should not be forced to fight in the Vietnam War because it is unjust and immoral.” That’s an insult even to our humble intelli gence, SPAESOV. ERIC SEVAREID of CBS News complained recently that “it is disgusting to hear protestors chant ‘Hey, Hey, LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?’ ” He Puritan Sportwear at 3tm £• turn co mcnfc tueur • HM\ \ V T» V\N will THE BATTALION Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the student writers onlp. The Battalion is a non tax-supported non profit, self-supporting educational enter prise edited and operated by students as a university and community newspaper. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin published herein. Rights of republication of all other matter herein are also reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. News contributions may be made by telephoning 846-6618 or 846-4010 or at the editorial offiae, Room 4, YMCA Building. For advertising or delivery call 846-6415. Members of the Student Publications Board are: Isey. chairman ; Dr. David Bowers, Colh Arts; F. S. White. College of Engineering; Titus, College of Veterinary Medicine; and Hal Taylor, Col- J.indsey. Arts; F. David Bowers, College of Engineering; Dr. Jim of Liberal Robert S. Mail subscriptio tions year; $6.50 per full sales tax. Ad' are $3.50 year. All subscr vertising rate furnished ege lege of Agriculture. per semester; subscrip ig rate furnish* The Battalion, Room 4, YMCA Buildin $6 ptions on request. College Stati 6 per school bject to 2% Address: tation, Texas published in College Sunday, and Monday Texas A&M is on, Texas daily except Saturday, nd holiday periods, September through The Battalion, a student newspaper a shed in College Station, Texas daily ay, ant' May, and once a week during summer school. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San MEMBER The Associated Press, Texas Press Association EDITOR CHARLES ROWTON Managing- Editor John Fuller News Editor John McCarroll Sports Editor Gary Sherer Editorial Columnist Robert Solovey Features Editor Mike Plake Staff Writers Bob Palmer, John Platcer, Mike Wright Photographers Russell Autry, Mike Wright Aggie February Special “1” Large Beautiful 8x10 Portrait From Your Choice Of Poses only 9 8 This Offer Not Good With Other Advertising Offers A&M Photo North Gate went on to suggest there is a tendency in many college students to join anti-war demonstrations as a gratification of the basic mob instinct. His thesis was that protest has been cheapened by the kind of spirit embodied in “bandwagon” techniques like the one we’ve been describing. We respect the opinions of people who sincerely oppose the war and the draft. We do not respect those physical cowards who would avoid the draft even in a war that had the unfaltering support of the American people, and we feel that many such per sons are using the peace move ments to pass off cowardice as conviction. AT THE same time, it should be noted that some of the student signers of that famous pro-war telegram from A&M to President Johnson a couple of years back were probably the same sort of people who sign any petition of fered to them, in gratification of the mob instinct mentioned above. A far more commendable attitude was recently shown here and at other schools where students cast their lot by giving blood for American soldiers in Vietnam. What makes this attitude com mendable is not simply the obvi ous contrast to the “bleed-ins” held at some U. S. schools for the benefit of the Viet Cong; it is the idea that American stu dents made a tangible sacrifice for American soldiers who, inci dentally, generally seem to feel they are fighting for a just cause. It is certainly more convincing of conviction than the frenzied cries of “Hell, no, we won’t go” ema nating from the pep-rally-like demonstrations to the east and west of here. THE BATTALION favors the Administration’s side in this bat tle for men’s minds. This policy is not, as some undoubtedly sus pect, a manifestation of the blind ly non-intellectual “make-war- not-love” philosophy that some cadets seem to consider intrinsic to military life. It simply reflects the acknowledgment that we are not in a position to pass judgment on such a highly involved topic as the Vietnam conflict. The Thirteenth Student Conference on National Affairs showed faiidy conclusively, to those students who were interested enough to attend, that there is a great deal to be said for both sides—so much, in fact, that the idea of college students (including few, if any, recognized authorities on the war) taking on the United States Government in a moral, intellectual and legalistic debate, begins to take on all the dramatic impact of the first Liston-Patter- son bout. THIS IS not such a fawning submission to Big Brother as it may seem at first glance, SPAESOV. We’re well aware that the war is killing a lot of women and children, just as did World War II and several hun dred other bloody, disgusting, immoral clashes in history. But we’re a little harder than some people to convince that American soldiers are killing them for the sheer joy of it. And we’re par ticularly appalled by the growing number of instances of the term “genocide” (as in the February issue of Ramparts Magazine) in diatribes against the govern ment’s policy in Vietnam. We think the sincerely motivated dis sent mentioned earlier approaches fanaticism when its spokesmen anoint themselves as the quix otically embattled foes of an approaching fourth Reich. If you want to take this as a cop-out, SPAESOV, go ahead. At any rate, we’ve decided that you deserve more than our answer of Dec. 14, and that we deserve more than being written off as too apathetic to answer your questionnaire. Sorry if this spoils your chances for that 100 per cent prize. —J.W.F. BUSIER AGENCY REAL ESTATE • INSURANCE F.H.A.—Veterans and Conventional Loans FARM & HOME SAVINGS ASSOCIATION Home Office: Nevada, Mo. 3523 Texas Ave. (in Ridgecrest) 846-3708 68 —YEAR OF THE ELEPHANT Join The Texas A&M Young Republleans - NOW Drawer B. O. College Station Phone 846-7693 or 846-3195 REGISTRATION AND TEXT BOOKS BREAK YOU? Then see us, for a personal loan. Take advantage of our prompt, confidential loan service now. UNIVERSITY LOAN COMPANY 317 Patricia (North Gate) College Station, Texas Telephone: 846-8319 Welcome Back Aggies! HANDYBURGER North Gate (Next to Campus Theatre) • Hamburgers, Sandwiches • Malts and Soft Drinks (Use our drive-in window or sit in Air-Conditioned Comfort) Hughes announces new openings on the TECHNICAL STAFF. fcffi ••• fMil Assignments exist for Engineers graduating in 1967 with B.S., M.S. and Ph.D degrees in ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. HUGHES-FULLERTON Engineering Laboratories assignments range from research to hardware development and operational support of products and systems in the field. Our current activities involve the advanced tech nologies of phased-array frequency scanning radar systems, real-time general purpose computers, displays, data processing, satellite and surface communications systems, surface-to- air missile systems, and tactical air weapons command/control systems. For additional information on the opportunities offered at HUGHES- FULLERTON in Southern California — and to arrange for a personal inter view with our Staff representatives, please contact your College Place ment Off ce or write; Mr. D. K. Horton, Supervisor, Professional Staffing, HUGHES-FULLERTON, P. O. Box 3310, Fullerton, California 92634. An equal opportunity employer — M & F / U.S. citizenship is required On-campus interviews February 14 & 15 j hughes; HUGHES AIRCRAFT COMPANY PEANUTS By Charles M. Schulz PEANUTS KM, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU REALlVj 5U6 MB'. BUT I MU£T APMIT THERE ARE ALSO TIMES WHEN I FEEL LIKE GIVINS WU A HUG.,