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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 19, 1971)
umii U). ^teb VICE 'tion is nient" > SERvio '0 p. m, is Balls nnsylvai an Jackets Un tiemold ta ly, Auilai roft, ind $5.00 t« |ij '0 t« $1(1 and Tw*, : $9.00 -s. and Dish Minis Coiiii Bryan E Che Battalion Cooling with winds Vol. 66 No. 97 College Station, Texas Friday, March 19, 1971 Friday — Partly cloudy. Winds northerly at 15-20 mph. High 61°, low 38°. Saturday — Partly cloudy to cloudy. Winds easterly 10-15 mph. High 68°, low 42°. 845-2226 Liquor-by-the-drink passes in Senate AUSTIN UP) — The Senate voted 22-7 Thursday to allow a Texan to walk into an open sa loon, slap his money on the coun ter and ask for a drink of whis key. Or, if he would rather, a wait ress will slide a mini-bottle across the table and he can mix his own. The local option liquor-by-the- drink proposal approved by the Senate now goes to the House, where its chances of passing are considered good. The way was cleared for a mix ed drinks bill last November when Texans voted 979,868 to 914,481 to repeal a 1935 constitu tional ban against open saloons. But some of the wet-dry con troversy remains, and Sen. Joe Christie of El Paso, the bill spon sor, carefully cocked his ear Thursday as each senator answer ed the roll call on final passage. The 22 votes was one more than necessary to put the bill into immediate effect if it final ly becomes law. Lt. Gov. Ben Bames has estimated that could mean an additional $4 million from the fees for the state treas ury. A bill pending in the House would raise another $22.9 mil lion with a 10 cents-a-drink tax. Christie’s bill sets out a mixed beverage permit fee of $5,000 and an annual renewal fee of $500. Sen. Don Kennard of Fort Worth protested the fees make it a “rich man’s bill . . . that cuts out the people in the low-income neighborhoods.” But Christie said the high fee was considered important in reg ulating liquor-by-the-drink. A major change was Edinburg Sen. Jim Bates’ amendment to allow saloon keepers to serve liquor in bottles as small as one ounce. “That means you can hire your fancy bartenders or you can buy it in small bottles and let a wait ress set it on the table,” said Bates. “This guarantees that no one will be stealing liquor tax money from the state, low over head and that the customer ab solutely gets what he ordered.” An amendment by Dallas Sen. Mike McKool was adopted over Christie’s protests it would cre ate a “retail monopoly” for re tail liquor stores. The amendment provides that retailers — not wholesalers as in the original bill —will supply the bars with whis key. McKool said in many instances this will be cheaper. As an ex ample, he said a retailer could sell Jim Beam bourbon for $3.75, but it would cost $4.46 from the wholesaler unless the tavern own er bought at least 10 cases from the wholesaler. Christie’s attempt to allow either retailers or wholesalers to supply whisky failed 10-20 and he exclaimed bitterly, “Let’s give it all to the big liquor stores in Dallas.” Another requirement tightened local option provisions. It would require an incorporated city to have been in existence at least three years and to have at least 100 registered voters before hold ing a liquor-by-the-drink election. Senators rejected amendments to make the mixed drink places serve food and to authorize 200 new state agents to regulate liq- uor-by-the-drink. They agreed to let the $5,000 permits be bought in two $2,500 installments so tavern owners “could see if their business would make a go of it.” They turned down an attempt to raise the renewal fee from $500 to $2,000. A proposal to hike the retail supply permit from $50 to $250 also failed. Among the amendments ac cepted without debate was a pro posal to outlaw the sale of a bot tle to a customer and to prohibit a customer from taking a drink off the premises. Political associations or char ity, civic or fraternal organiza tions could get temporary mixed beverage permits for $25 a day. A caterer could get a special permit for $250 a year. Hours of service under the bill would be the same for beer taverns, with special late-hour permits required to serve beyond 12:15 a.m. on weekdays and 1:15 a.m. on weekends. In other action Thursday, the Senate approved 24-6 and sent back to the House a bill raising tuition for out-of-state students from $200 to $500 a semester. International students, nonresi dent students currently enrolled and teaching assistants are ex empted from the increase. Sen. Ralph Hall of Rockwall said Barnes had insisted he bring up his legislative ethics bill again Monday, and Hall said he had agreed. He said Tuesday he was ready to drop the whole thing after the Senate cut the “heart” I out of the bill by permitting leg- I islators’ law partners to practice before state agencies. The House passed and sent to the Senate 133-2 a bill changing the name of Lamar State Col lege of Technology at Beaumont to Lamar University. In a routine session, the House tentatively approved bills that would allow cities up to 500,000 population to spend up to 1 per cent of their general fund budget for advertising; prohibit thrash ing of pecans without property owners’ consent; and prohibiting the firing of employees for filing workmen’s compensation claims. Letters bring release of POW photos 89c 89c 89c 89c 89c 89c The family of an American POW held in North Vietnam credits the national letter writing campaign with providing com munication with the airman and photographs allegedly showing his good care in a recent issue of Life Magazine. Air Force Capt. Arthur T. (Tommy) Hoffson is shown with a group of POWs in the Feb. 12 issue of Life. His face is almost completely hidden in the color photograph on the upper left corner of page 28. But unpublish ed photos clearly show the son of Col. (ret.) and Mrs. W. A. Hoffson of Washington, D. C. The photographs were taken by Japanese photographer-journalist Kozo Sakurai and accompany a story about prisoner treatment. Capt. Hoffson apparently was at a Christmas service when the photographs were taken. The 27-year-old single officer has several relatives in the Bryan and Cameron areas. His maternal grandmother is Mrs. J. H. Thomas of Cameron. His mother’s two sisters are Mrs. Make McDermott of Cameron and Mrs. Juanita Young of 2100 Echols, Bryan, an assistant accountant for the Tex as Agricultural Extension Service at Texas A&M University. Mrs. Young’s daughter, Mrs. Kenneth Patranella of 212 Ehlin- ger, Bryan, is a first cousin and grew up with the airman. Mrs. Hoffson is a graduate of Hearne High School. Capt. Hoffson was a lieutenant when his F14 fighter-bomber was ft shot down over North Vietnam on Aug. 17, 1968. The plane’s pilot was Lt. Elmo Powell of Gatesville, nephew of Miss Mary Routh of Bryan, a retired Texas Agricultural Extension Service specialist who had worked with Mrs. Young for many years. Mrs. Young said Lts. Hoffson and Powell, both University of Texas at Austin graduates, were very close personal friends. Pow ell is still listed as missing in action. Capt. Hoffson was listed as missing for 15 months. His fami ly never gave up hope, and official notification of his capture was released by the North Vietnamese on Nov. 24, 1969. “His mother was visiting me when the family received word he was a prisoner,” Mrs. Young recalled, “and she was here a year later when they received his first letter.” Mrs. Young said her sister looks forward to her visits in Bryan because of the good news she has received here. During the past year Mrs. Hoffson received four letters from her son and Mrs. McDermott, the grandmother, has received one letter. There also has been a flow of letters and packages to the POW. When the photographs ap peared in Life, Mrs. Hoffson knew the partially hidden prison er was her son. She called the Pentagon, but was told everyone had been identified and her son was not among the group. She persisted. Two days later Mrs. Hoffson received word it was her son and she was given two color photographs clearly show ing him among the prisoners. The Pentagon officer apolo gized. Capt. Hoffson’s name also ap peared in a North Vietnam news paper, translated by the Depart ment of Defense, commenting on a painting of two multi-colored birds he apparently painted in the prison camp. “I believe the letter writing campaign is having a tremendous impact on North Vietnam,” Mrs. Young said. “Before the cam paign we knew nothing, now we know he is alive and there is a flow of letters and packages.” Mrs. Patranella said that prior to December, 1969, only 100 families received mail from prisoners. Now there are 338 and the families believe treat ment has improved. Mrs. Young, whose husband died in World War II, reported she writes many letters every week. She had only one returned, that one refused last week by the North Vietnamese in Paris Mrs. Young, Mrs. Patranella and Miss Routh are part of the Bryan-College Station National League of Families’ efforts co ordinated by Mrs. Alton B. Meyer and Mrs. Neal P. Ward. Mrs. Meyer's husband is a con firmed POW and Mrs. Ward’s son is missing in action. Both Air Force officers are A&M graduates. The group’s efforts have in cluded letter campaigns, petition drives, billboard reminders and me special mailings included in util ity company bills They also are completing plans for the “National Week of Con cern” March 21-27. The week has been declared by Congress. Mrs. Meyer said local activities will be announced later this week. Ceremonies for Earl Rudder to be Tuesday Brief informal ceremonies marking the first anniversary of the death of Earl Rudder will be conducted Tuesday at Texas A&M University, announced A&M Pres ident Dr. Jack Williams. Williams said the special ob servance will be conducted at 12:15 p. m. on the System Build ing lawn. Student Body President Kent Caperton and Edward E. Duryea, commander of the Corps of Ca dets’ Ross Volunteers, are in charge of arranging the observ ance. “I ask that there be a pause Tuesday as we go about the busi ness of the university,” Williams said, “in memory of Earl Rudder, his inspired leadership and his unparalleled devotion to this in stitution and its purposes.” “It will be a simple but respect ful ceremony,” Caperton explained Thursday, “in memory of Pres ident Rudder’s death. We will place a wreath at the base of the main flagpole in front of the Systems Building.” Williams noted that students, faculty-staff and Bryan-College Station residents are invited to attend. ALAN RAMSEY, A SINGER and guitar player from Austin performs in the Basement Thursday night. The light, folky, current, pop, little blues, player will be appearing Fri day and Saturday nights as well. (Photo by Larry Martin) Filing for election posts begins Monday in MSC Filing for general elections will begin Monday in the Memorial Student Center Student Programs office, according to Dale Foster, vice president for public relations of the Election Commission. The filing for the April 15 elections will be held from 8-5 p.m. and will extend through March 26. Offices open besides positions on the Student Senate are class officers, election com missioners, MSC Council repre sentatives, and yell leaders. All Senate offices are open for filing except next year’s freshman representatives and senators from the professional curriculum of the College of Veterinary Med icine. These positions are nor mally filled during the fall semester. Requirements for the offices are: Senate officers and MSC class representatives, 2.50 grade point ratio; college representa tives and committee chairmen, 2.25; yell leaders and election commissioners, 2.25; and class officers, 2.00. “Candidates for all student government positions must have read the University Regulations regarding student elections,” said Foster. “The office-seeker also can not be on conduct or scho lastic probation at the time of filing or after taking office should he win.” The junior management major explained that the Election Com mission ran into a problem this year with the scheduling of the general elections. The problem was a result of the change in the dates of the 1970-71 school year. “Due to the revision of the uni- verstiy calendar, the semester ends two weeks earlier than it did when the election date was originally set up. But we were able to move the date up only one week; otherwise the elections would have been during the Easter Holidays,” said Foster. He added that the period of filing is shorter than usual be cause the University Regulations require filing to be after mid semester grade reports are sent out, yet 10 class days before the election date. House halts SST advance by cutting off federal funds WASHINGTON <A>) _ The House voted Thursday to halt U. S. supersonic transport devel opment — possibly for good —- by cutting off its federal funding as of March 20. It voted 217 to 204 and then 215 to 204 to kill all $290 million President Nixon asked this year for development of two SST pro totypes — including $156 million already spent. The two Democratic senators from Washington, where the Boe ing Co. would build the craft, said the House vote seriously damages prospects for Senate approval next week, but the White House remained hopeful. Gerald L. Warren, deputy White House press secretary, said Nixon was “naturally dis appointed” but is hopeful the IN A WAY REMINISCENT of A&M parking lots and streets is this shopping center at Natrona Heights, Pa. The one-way signs could pass for the ones here, and the huge piles of snow, pushed out of the way of the lanes, looks a lot like dirt. (AP Wirephoto) License plates for sale Until March 26 in MSC The Brazos County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office is selling 1971 automobile license plates at a booth in the post office area of the Memorial Center through next Friday. Of special interest to Texas A&M students, according to the office representative working at the booth, is the fact students may purchase plates in Brazos County even though they claim a home address in another county. The plates, which must be mounted by April 1, may be purchased from 8:30-11:30 a.m. and 12:30-4:30 p.m. weekdays. Sales have been slow, the representatives said, and the booth may continue sales past next Friday. Senate will restore funds for the prototypes. The senate voted 2 to 41 at one point last year to halt SST funds but Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe expressed hope Thursday the House action “will be corrected” when the new Sen ate takes up the program. “If Congress fails to continue this program tens of thousands of workers will feel the effects in the years to come,” Volpe said. “Our country will lose leadership in the most important field of this air-space age and our econ omy will suffer great losses.” Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., a leading critic of the SST, ac knowledged that Senate opposi tion to the program is not as strong now as it was last year, but he said “I definitely think this House vote will help turn some senators around.” Sen. Henry M. Jackson, D- Wash., called the house action a tragedy for science and technol ogy and said it is “bad news for the aerospace industry” as well as for “those who want to see a balanced effort in which we go ahead withour social and eco nomic programs.” The other Washington sena tor, Democrat Warren G. Mag- nuson, said “I’m confident of one thing: there eventually will be an American SST.” Although a cutoff of federal University National Bank “On the side of Texas A&M.” —Adv. taxpayer funds, if sustained by the Senate, would delay if not kill the SST program, the ad ministration has said it has emergency alternative financing plans for consideration. Drum majors of Aggie Band are announced Steven T. Sullivan of Waxa- hachie, John R. Dye of San An tonio and Richard A. Smith of Borger have been elected Texas Aggie Band drum majors for 1971-72. Next year’s drum majors were announced by Lt. Col. E. V. Adams following recommenda tion to President Jack Williams through the commandant and dean of students. Sullivan, an environmental de sign major, was recommended as head drum major. The White Band cadet is combined band sup ply sergeant this year and plays the tenor saxophone. Maroon Band drum major is John R. Dye, recreation and parks major and platoon sergeant. He plays the alto saxophone. Smith, the White Band drum major, is studying math and plays Sousaphone. Banking is a pleasure at First Bank & Trust.