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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 1969)
Page 2 THE BATTALION College Station, Texas Tuesday, March 11, 1969 CADET SLOUCH by Jim Earle “Perhaps you’d be interested in knowing that I beat my roommate in handball this weekend!” Tonight’s Forum Needs Your Gripe Tonight’s Student Forum sounds like a potentially effective addition to student relations. Agencies of student government have been more active throughout the year than ever before at A&M, but from time to time the encouraging signs tend to fade as student representatives get caught up in personal crusades and lose sight of more general problems around them. In the last couple of months, of course, the Student Senate has tried to seek out non-Senators for investigative sub-committees on such problems; but the actual give-and-take of student gripes has been iceberglike, with the great mass of disgruntlement submerged in coffee, beer and other conversational lubricants. The key word in that first sentence, of course, is “potentially.” The rest of the iceberg can be exposed to air and light only through enthusiastic and energetic response to such opportunities as the Civilian Student Council has helped to offer. Forum Chairman Garry Mauro Monday termed the gripe-in an “experiment that may or may not work,” while explaining that council members hope to make the session a regular affair. The turn-out for this first attempt, then, is especially important. The forum has been well-publicized, and a poor showing of interest might realistically be considered by the CSC as an indication that either students are perfectly satisfied with everything their representatives have done or they don’t really take their own gripes seriously enough to mount a soap-box about them. Neither conclusion rings true. We hope they’re both disproven tonight. State Capital Roundup By VERN SANFORD Texas Press Association AUSTIN — Thwarted in one effort to keep down the size of the 1970-71 tax bill by school fund diversion, Gov. Preston Smith took a new approach^ He called on Atty. Gen. Craw ford Martin to rush an opinion as to whether income from state- owned suibmerg-ed lands (bays, river banks etc.) can be used for current school spending 1 . Martin earlier held unconstitu tional the governor’s plan to get $71.6 million in state land revenue bound for the sacrosanct perma- ment school fund for educational financing during the next two years. Only investment income from the permanent fund can now be spent. Smith accepted Martin’s orig inal opinion, but noted that rev enue from submerged lands was not dedicated to the school fund by constitution but by statute in 1939 and 1941. So, if the legis lature can dedicate money from those oil-rich lands, Smith feels it can “undedicate” as well. “If 72 and a half per cent of the royalties involved were util ized, it would mean approximate ly $52 million which the taxpay ers would not have to produce to meet anticipated revenues needed to finance state government dur ing the coming two years,” Smith maintained. He asked Martin for an early ruling in preparation for a sup plemental message the governor will deliver to the Legislature, in which he will spell out alterna tive sources for the $71.6 million item invalidated by the attorney general’s March 3 opinion. Smith first said he has two alternatives: budget-cutting or a reinforced revenue plan. He de cided he didn’t have much fat left to trim in his budget and settled on alternative money raisers. ★ ★ ★ LEGISLATURE ACTS — Leg islature finally reached its full complement, with the election of Rep. John H. Poernor of Hondo, a Republican, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Rep. D. C. Howard of Uvalde. And the law making process continues. Legislators have completed ac tion on the workmen’s compensa tion reform bill which raises ben efits to injured workers from $35 a week maximum to $49. Measure went to the governor for his sig nature following House passage 146 to 1. (Senate acted earlier.) One of the session’s most im portant measures, a proposed con stitutional amendment raising the water bond ceiling to $3.5 billion to finance the state’s share of the $10 billion Texas water plan, passed the House 131-15 and went to the Senate. In their liveliest action, both houses would permit Texans to buy rifles, shotguns and ammuni tion in adjoining states despite the federal gun law. Similar leg islation is being considered in other states. Senate passed a variety of bills including a Texas Meat Inspec tion Law (which is necessary to prevent federal regulation of meat), a trailer house uniform standards act, a 45-minute daily planning break for school teach ers and extension of time for homecoming Vietnam servicemen (90 days after return) to renew their drivers’ licenses. House approved bills allowing persons between 19 and 21 to be licensed as cab drivers, protecting the rights of developers of new varieties of cotton, and requiring the labeling of eggs as to their state or country of origin. ★ ★ ★ BILLS INTRODUCED — Leg islators kept dropping more and more bills into both the House and Senate hoppers, including: • A bill to require telephone companies to maintain a business office in every county seat where it provides telephone service. • Creation of a 50-member Governor’s Committee on Human Relations “to recommend pro grams of action designed and in tended to promote and obtain a better understanding and rela tionship between the various groups.” • Establishing a Texas Board of Examiners in the Fitting and Dispensing of Hearing Aids to license and regulate all persons in that business. • Allowing haulers of agricul tural products to get a permit to operate without having to prove their service would fit the “public convenience and necessity,” which other truckers must show. • Creating the Legislative Modernization Committee to study and improve the legislative process. • Closely regulating when and how and for what purpose state law-enforcement agencies can use electronic eavesdropping or “bug- ging”. • Requiring all elections in Texas to be with the use of voting ma chines, which the state would fur nish but which would be stored and maintained by the counties. • Allowing school districts to increase the length of their school terms from nine to 10 months. • Increasing the penalty for the crimes of rape, armed robbery and murder. • Providing state support for kindergarten programs voluntar ily operated by local school dis tricts for five-year-old children. • Requiring door-to-door salesmen to return a customer’s money, if the customer demands it within three days after buying something which he did not solicit. • Establishing a Texas presi dential primary to replace the existing system of a series of conventions and prorating the state’s national convention dele gate votes according to the re turns in the primary. ★ ★ ★ APPOINTMENTS — Former State Rep. Joe Burkett Jr. of Kerrville was named by Governor Smith to the Texas Liquor Con trol Board for a short term ex tending until Nov. 11. He suc ceeds O. R. Crawford of Jasper who resigned. Smith named Leslie R. Neal of San Antonio to succeed William E. Berger of Hondo on the Texas Water Rights Commission. Governor appointed Tommy V. Smith of Austin as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Governor Smith appointed Dr. Albert B. Spires of Taylor to the State Board of Medical Examin ers; James W. Throgmorton and Daniel J. Bromley Jr. of Port Arthur as branch pilots for Sabine Bar, Pass and Tributaries. He reappointed Laurence R. Melton, Dallas, as chairman of the Committee for the Employment of Handicapped. ★ ★ ★ COURTS SPEAK — Supreme Court listened to arguments of two banks over which bank is en titled to administer $300 million estate of Sarita Kenedy East pending a decision on which will of the South Texas ranch owner is valid. Will contest itself will be heard in Kenedy County dis trict court near Kingsville. A 19-year-old San Antonio youth, hit by a taxi while trying to help a girl hurt in a previous traffic mishap, is not entitled to damages awarded him by the trial court, says the High Court. A merchant seaman seriously injured when he fell on an unse cured plate on a catwalk should recover $54,264 judgment, the Court found. ATTORNEY GENERAL RULES — To nobody’s great sur prise, Attorney General Martin declared unconstitutional Gover nor Smith’s proposed diversion of money earmarked to the perma nent school fund for current edu cation spending. Mlartin said legislation making air and water pollution misde meanor offenses is unconstitu tional as applied to associations and firms in that the constitu tional reference applied only to individuals and private corpora tions. A variance by state agen cies would be complete defense to prosecution. Attorney General held as not qualified an applicant for regis tration as a professional engineer who holds only an agricultural degree from Texas Tech College prior to 1962. Bulletin Board TONIGHT Texas Aggie Rodeo Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the lecture room of the Animal Indus tries Building to plan the rodeo. WEDNESDAY Aggie Wives Bridge Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center. Intermediates question period begins at 7:20. Regulars, intermediates and be ginners with previous instruction are invited. THURSDAY Tyler-Smith County Hometown Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in room 2-C of the MSC. Pictures will be taken; wear Class “A” Winter or coat and tie. Sweet heart will be elected. DeWitt-Lavaca County Home town Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in room 203 of the Academic Building. Officers will be elected and spring party will be planned. Computer Science Wives Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the Blue Flame Room of Lone Star Gas Co. Aggieland Florists will dem onstrate flower arranging and a door prize will be given. Brazos Valley Literacy Council will hold its first 1969 meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the Brazos Room of the First Bank & Tnmj Bryan. A special invitatio:[ attend is extended to newcitii of our communities who mayh had some experience with lit« programs. All former teaclitn| this community and others ir> ested are urged to attend. Panhandle Area HometonQ will meet at 6 p.m. at ZarapeJ ( FRIDAY Aggie Wives Bridge Cluk.| vites all Aggie wives to their husbands to play bridpj 7:30 p.m. in the Lone Star i Blue Flame Room. For revtr tions or information call 846- or 846-5020. Admission is |lj per couple. si r£ tl- b: S£ b< No. 1 In College Sales Fidelity Union Life Insurance Company 303 College Main 846-825 PIZZA INN FREE DORM DELIVERY Open 11 a. m. to 12 p. m. Mon. Thru Thurs. 11 a. m. - 2 p. m. Fri. Sat. 1 p. m. - 12 p. m. Sun. Call 846-6164 or 846-9984 For Orders To Go Or Eat In 413 Hwy. 6, So. Across from the Ramada Inn AMERICAN'S MAN at A&M ill§gf!il ED ROGERS Did you know that it is safer, more comfortable, and quicker to fly. If your answer to all these questions is NO, then you need to see Ed Rogers, American Airlines’ man in College Station. I can supply you with all the information that is needed for you to fly to your hometown or nearby. I can supply you will a Youth Card for only $3.00 and send you on the trip of a lifetime on an American Airlines Astrojet. Don’t hesitate to call me at 845-5559 or come by my rooii 109 in dorm 6 at your convenience. Thank you, Edward L. Rogers j4MJE/?/G4/V ja/f?IL/A/ES I THE BATTALION Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the student writers only. 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. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should be typed, double-spaced, and must be no more than 300 words in length. They must be signed, althotigh the writer’s name will be with held by arrangement with the editor. Address corre spondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Members of the Student Publications Board are: Jim Lindsey, chairman ; Dr. David Bowers, College of Liberal Arts ; F. S. White, College of Engineering ; Dr. Donald R. Clark, College of Veterinary Medicine; and Hal Taylor, Col lege of Agriculture. The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M is published in College Station, Texas daily except Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and holiday periods, September through May, and once a week during summer school. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services. Inc., New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. MEMBER The Associated Press, Texas Press Association Mail subscriptions are $3.60 per semester; $6 per school year; $6.50 per full year. All subscriptions subject to 4% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843. The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all new 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. EDITOR JOHN W. FULLER Managing Editor Dave Mayes Sports Editor John Platzer News Editor Bob Palmer Staff Columnists John McCarroll, Mike Plake, Monty Stanley, Jan Moulden Staff Writers Tom Curl, Janie Wallace, Tony Huddleston, David Middlebrooke Assistant Sports Editor Richard Campbell Photographer W. R. Wright SOPHS 6l JUNIORS ATTENTION Pictures for The Aggieland are being made for Jrs. & Soph’s O-R this week, March 10-14. Your cooperation is necessary for picture to appear in the yearbook. wcwiwuinicak \ 845-6311 Sponsored by the Student Senate PEANUTS 'hERE / 5 the world- FAMOUS A57K0KAUT TAKIU6 OFF FOR , v THE MOON... / A-OK l H0(t) 00 V00 REA-?? LOUP AMP CLEAR! U)E HAVE LIFT0Ff!lH£ BIRD IS BEGINNING TO MOVE.... By Charles M. Schid U)E HAVE A LOT OF IN" EXPRESSIONS! REPORT THAT MAN TO \ ii MISSION CONTROL!! J V- THAT MEANS H WONT HAVE TO FEEP Y00 / v£L ' TONISHT^y PI A NUTS b si IT h ti b s; 0] IT