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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
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THE BATTALION
Opinions expressed in The Battalion
are those of the student writers onlp. The
Battalion is a non tax-supported non
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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
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Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
News contributions may be made by telephoning 846-6618
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For advertising or delivery call 846-6415.
Members of the Student Publications Board are:
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Arts; F. S. White. College of Engineering;
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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
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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.
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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
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