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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1972)
he Battalion Cloudy and mild 13; Bud Vol. 67 No. 83 fyes, 8; College Station, Texas Thursday, February 24, 1972 Friday and Saturday —• Cloudy in the morning. Partly cloudy in the afternoon. Southerly winds 10-15 mph. High 78°, low 61°. 845-2226 /%§! China attitude more friendly at peace talks HUEY GIVES CHARLIE A HARD TIME in the jungles of South Vietnam. The battling helicopter, better known as Huey Cobra, makes its home at the Central highlands base of Pleiku and provides close air support for ground troops. (AP Wirephoto) Gets 18 months Court denies Dowdy acquittal REBN r-AJUPI BALTIMORE OP) _ Rep. John V, Dowdy, D-Tex., sought ac quittal or a new trial Wednes day, but instead received an 18 months prison sentence and a $25,000 fine for bribery conspir acy, The sentencing was imposed by Judge Roszel C. Thomsen in the same federal court where the Athens Democrat’s eight-week trial has been conducted. His lawyers said they would appeal. The maximum sentence on all eight counts of which Dowdy was tonvicted could have brought 40 years in prison and $40,000 in fines. Dowdy was the first congress man convicted since Rep. Thom as J. Lane, D-Mass., was found guilty of income tax evasion 15 years ago. Lane was fined $10,- 000 and sent to prison for four months. Dowdy’s lawyers filed motions for acquittal and a new trial, listing 19 reasons why they said the verdict should be set aside. The motions were rejected. Leon H. Pierson, Dowdy’s chief lawyer, argued that the court acted improperly on two occa sions during the trial. Approval of telephone taps was not proper because the court A&M Traffic Panel supports movement toward bike paths The University Traffic Panel in Wednesday’s afternoon meet ing decided it favors some sort Of bike path plan for the College Station community. The panel examined the bike path plan proposed by A&M’s landscape architect, Robert Ruck er, Rucker’s plan calls for bike paths to generally follow the streets and leaves the center of campus free for pedestrian trav- The proposed paths will be five feet wide allowing three feet for a passing lane. Chief of Police O. L. Luther commented that there should be no problem enforcing a bike path system on campus. The committee would like to know how the bicycling commun ity feels about the proposed plan. A copy of the plan has been sub mitted to the A&M Wheelmen Club for its comments. A report was given at the meeting which described a bike path system now being used at the University of California at Davis. The town’s population is only 24,000 but it boasts of hav ing 18,000 bicycles. In Davis the bikeways are separated from auto traffic by small concrete blocks. Bike lanes vary in size from 12 to eight feet depending on their usage. Bicycling in Da vis has helped preserve the down town area as a valuable shop ping district since parking is no longer an obstacle. The town provides bike racks with movable rectangular bars that make it necessary for bicyclists to carry only padlocks. In addition to bike path plans the traffic panel discussed the auto-pedestrian conflict that ex ists around Sbisa dining hall. The panel has recommended that Ross street be permanently closed to auto traffic between Asbury and Houston streets to remedy the problem. has no jurisdiction in Washing ton, D.C., where the taps took place, Pierson told the judge. Pierson also said tapes of those conversations should not have been replayed for the jury while it deliberated a verdict. Dowdy also spoke on his be half and argued the government used illegal evidence to gain con viction. The veteran congressman cited the speech and debate clause of the Constitution saying his transactions with the Monarch Construction Corp. of Silver Spring, Md., were privileged. He said as a U. S. congressman, he wasn’t required to defend his legislative actions and dealings in court. The legislator was convicted Dec. 30 of a $25,000 bribery con spiracy for blocking a Justice Department probe of a Mary land home improvements busi ness. Dowdy was accused on two counts of bribery conspiracy, one count of causing interstate trans portation of a bribe and five counts of lying to the grand jury in Baltimore. Nathan H. Cohen, Baltimore businessman, Julius Levitt and Myrvin C. Clark, former Mon arch employes who said they passed the $25,000 in a briefcase to the 19-year House veteran at Atlanta, Ga., Airport, were key prosecution witnesses. Dowdy was indicted March, 1970 but trial did not begin until more than a year later, Nov. 8, 1971, because of his health prob lems. Dowdy said his attorneys will file notice of appeal within the next few days and that he will “go all the way to the Supreme Court” if necessary. Asked about the fine and sen tence, Dowdy said, “I expected that from the judge.” Dowdy spoke of “framed-up charges” and said it would have no effect on Mrs. Dowdy’s cann paign for a congressional seat. PEKING (A*) — President Nixon and Premier Chou Eng-lai held another long session Wednesday, and more friendly Chinese over tures lent hope that the leaders are charting ways for improving relations between their nations. Before the opening of the sec ond four-hour meeting in as many days, Chou indicated some American correspondents could stay on for a look at China after Nixon leaves next week. After the meeting, Chou es corted the President and Mrs. Nixon to a sports show at Capi tal Stadium and about 18,000 waiting Chinese applauded as the presidential party entered. At the gymnasium, Nixon was seen by the largest live audience since he arrived Monday. This added to his public exposure, already underscored by the selln out of the People’s Daily when it gave lavish display to the first accounts of his visit. Another gesture regarded as friendly was the fact that the day’s meeting between Nixon and Chou was held at the guest house where the Nixons are stay ing. The two previous sessions had been held in the Great Hall of the People. Again the atmosphere was friendly. Nixon and Chou laughed and joked. Before the doors closed, Chou told the waiting re porters, “If the press wants to see any more places, they can apply to the Department of In formation. You don’t have much time here.” “How are you all?” Chou asked the American correspond ents. “They’re better than they de serve,” the President interrupted. Nixon asked Chou if the snowy weather would prevent the visi tors from seeing the Great Wall outside Peking Thursday. The premier predicted that the weather would “turn fine.” No word of what is under dis cussion has come from behind the closed doors. But it seemed certain they were covering ideas for cultural and scientific ex changes, a Nixon goal, and per haps had discussed Vietnam. No one expects the Chinese to give on Nixon’s peace plan for Indochina. Chou made clear be fore' the President arrived in China that the plan was unac ceptable. Possibly reflecting H a n o i’s certainty on this, George Wald, a Harvard antiward professor, said in Hong Kong on his arriv al Wednesday from North Viet nam: “I think the Chinese are going to hold the line on Viet nam.” But Wald added that the North Vietnamese “have had the same feeling of uneasiness as the American peace movement in the past few months about which way China might go.” Nixon’s plan calls for a com plete U. S. troop withdrawal from Vietnam within six months of an agreement, and new elec tions in South Vietnam with President Nguyen Van Thieu re signing a month before the vote. In return North Vietnam would release all war prisoners. Behind the show of Chinese friendliness may be a desire to worry the Russians. The Soviet leaders are well aware that the remote Mao Tse-tung, in an al-< most unprecedented gesture, saw Nixon on his first day in Peking. They know that Chou has made an outward show of friendliness to Nixon after the rather low- key reception at the airport up on the President’s arrival. Henry A. Kissinger, the Presi dent’s national security adviser, was again present as Nixon met Chou across a green conference table Wednesday. Chou was ac companied by Chao Kuan-hua, vice minister of foreign affairs; Chang Wenchin, director of the Foreign Ministry’s department for Europe, America and Aus tralia, and Wang Hai-jung, the ministry’s deputy director of protocol. President’s China trip costing taxpayers plenty WASHINGTON (A 5 ) — Presi dent Nixon’s trip to China is costing taxpayers at least $300,- 000 for transportation alone. To tal costs could be several times that amount. The White House says it hasn’t calculated the trip’s cost. Some estimates can be made, however, based on such known expenses as the hourly operating costs of the presidential jet. On private citizenry Kleindienst raps spy tactics WASHINGTON (A*) — Rich ard G. Kleindienst, President Nixon’s nominee for attorney general, said Wednesday the government should not spy on private citizens who are peace fully picketing or demonstrating. “That would be improper con duct on behalf of the govern ment,” he told the Senate Judi ciary Committee. “I would never allow it.” Kleindienst, currently deputy attorney general, said however that when citizens exercise their Singing Cadets perform over wide area of state i Singing Cadets this spring will keep A&M before Texans in a ^ay that almost matches the record 61 performances of 1970- 1, Appearances by the all-male fllee club before the May 6 se mester end will include Houston, Say City, Marshall, Tyler and Jacksonville trips, plus several local performances. The Cadets sang 26 times last fall. The 61-voice unit will go be fore the Santa Gertrudis Inter- University National Bank •On the side of Tecxas A&M.” —Adv. national Conference in Houston Friday. Director Robert L. Boone then will have an open stretch until mid-March to work in new music for the Cadets’ local show. A four-day period March 16- 19 -will include five perform ances. The Maroon-clad musical group will sing at the Engineer ing Center dedication, concerts at Houston’s Jones Hall and Bay City for A&M Mothers Clubs and two churches. On March 23 the Cadets take the risers for the campus Transportation Con ference. A Marshall-Tyler-Jacksonville tour will set the stage for a se mester-closing surge, which will include shows for the Federated A&M Mothers Clubs, April 15; the First Baptist Church in Bry an, April 16; Relay Engineers Conference, April 17; Aggie Muster and the local show, April 21; a faculty-board dinner, April 24, and Sul Ross Reunion ban quet, April 28. The group accompanied by Mrs. June Biering sang earlier at the Bankers Credit School and SCONA XVII, along with a weekend San Antonio trip for performances at Concordia Lu theran Cuhrch and the Theater of the Performing Arts. More than 1,500 people attended. right under the First Amend ment, there are usually others who use it as an opportunity to plan for the disruption of the government and against the na tional security. “I think that the government has a duty to gain information on these activities,” he said. “But just to go around taking moving pictures or prying or snooping on individual citizens is improper conduct by the government.” The 48-year-old Kleindienst made his comments during the second day of his confirmation hearings in again answering questions on the government’s use of surveillance. Kleindienst was supposed to put his head into the lion’s mouth in his first confrontation with lib eral senators examining his qual ifications to be attorney general. The lion turned out to be more of a lamb. The confirmation hearing on Kleindienst’s nomination for at torney general was billed as an opportunity for Judiciary Com mittee Democrats to review the Justice Department record over the past three years, a period in which Kleindienst has been a key spokesman. But Sens. Birch Bavh, D-*Ind., and Phillip A. Hart, D-Mich., who did most of the interrogat ing in the opening round Tues day, were not severely critical in their remarks. Even Bayh, who said he and Kleindienst have an agreement to disagree on policy, said he thinks the Senate will confirm Kleindienst. Kleindienst said he favors gov ernment wiretapping in national- security cases without a court order. If confirmed as attorney general, he said, “None will be authorized without my signa ture.” He added that he would use wiretaps in the intelligence-gath ering process even if the Justice Department did not plan to seek an indictment. Hart asked his views on the legalization of marijuana and on capital punishment. Kleindienst said he would not recommend legalizing the posses sion or sale of marijuana because “it’s an euphoric substance which causes youn gpeople to depart from the realities around them.” In general, he said, he does not favor capital punishment but thinks it could be used in such cases as “cold-blooded, premedi tated, rational acts where hein ous crimes are commited — kid naping, assassination, bombings.” Sielken’s seminar gets postponement Robert L. Sielken Jr.’s Insti tute of Statistics seminar origin ally scheduled this week at A&M has been postponed until March 1. The lecture, “Fitting a Regres sion Line by Minimizing the Mean Absolute Deviation,” will begin at 4 p.m. in Plant Sciences Room 103. But the cost to the taxpayers is dwarfed by the multimillion- dollar outlays being made by the television networks and other news organizations to provide coverage of the President’s trip. Media expenses include, for ex-i ample, 10 cents a word for dis patches transmitted from China. Probably the biggest single government expense category is transportation. The Air Force calculates the costs of operating Nixon’s Boeing 707 jet, the “Spirit of ’76,” at $1,180 per flying hour. Since Nixon’s round trip to Peking is taking about 40 flying hours, that figures out to $47,200. Add on the cost of a backup jet from the presidential fleet, plus about half a dozen other similar-size government planes which are now in China, which are expected there this week or which made the trip earlier, and the government transportation tab exceeds $300,000. For the 87 news correspond ents and other media personnel who flew to China with Nixon in a pair of chartered Pan Am 707s, the round-trip ticket for each was about $2,300 — or a total of more than $200,000 paid for air fare by news organiza tions. One hard-to-determine govern ment expense category is com munications. Nonsensitive communications between the presidential party and China and the White House are being handled via specially arranged satellite circuits. The White House won’t say how much this costs, but the go ing commercial rate for a three- minute telephone call for Peking is $14 — plus $4.50 for each ad ditional minute. Sources reported the White House several weeks ago re served three around-the-clock voice-grade channels on the Comsat satellite linking China with the United States. Each of the channels can be split into 22 circuits capable of telegraphic transmission. The White House has been em ploying also a facsimile trans mission system to send presiden tial documents from Peking to the White House. This requires a voice-grade channel. If the White House is paying the $4.50-per-minute commercial telephone rate, the daily costs for the three satellite channels would exceed $38,000. 4 additional curriculums await approval by Board Four new curriculums will be considered for approval by the Board of Directors in their Tues day meeting. Scheduled to be presented are a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Chemistry and Biology, a curric ulum in Medical Technology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematical Sciences. The B.A. programs for Chem istry and Biology are the first of their kind at TAMU though not unusual at other major colleges. The programs will serve to pro vide scientifically trained person nel in non-research positions and allow students to have a greater breadth of knowledge about re lated subjects. Neither of the programs will re quire the addition of new courses. The Medical Technology curric ulum provides for a three-year program at TAMU with the sen ior year to be completed at a major medical technology school. The course will help fill the currently great demand for more trained laboratory personnel. No new courses will be instituted. The Applied Mathematical Sci ences program is a mathematics degree with emphasis on statis tics. Four new courses, all of them in statistics, will be requir ed. Previous to this only graduate level programs have been offered in statistics.