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Mutscher lawyers call no witnesses
ABILENE, TEX. (AP)—Defense attorneys have gambled boldly
that an Abilene jury will agree with them today that the state has not
carried its burden of proof in the bribery-conspiracy trial of Texas
House Speaker Gus Mutscher and two of his associates.
The defense rested its case Monday without calling any witnesses.
Such a move carries a psychological punch, but it is also a gamble,
as failure to call witnesses is a gamble in any case, no matter how strong
the defense thinks its position is.
Prosecutors began telling the eight-woman four-man jury this
morning why they think the state has proved that Mutscher and two
aides conspired to accept a bribe.
Defense lawyers will follow by telling the jury they were so
confident the state has failed to make a case that the defense rested
without putting on any witnesses.
The state will make the final argument and the case is expected to
go to the jury by late afternoon or early evening.
Mutscher, aide Rush McGinty and Rep. Tommy Shannon of Fort
Worth are accused of conspiring to accept bribes in the form of bank
loans from Houston promoter Frank Sharp.
To convict, the jury must be persuaded beyond a reasonable
doubt that there was a positive agreement between the defendants to
accept a bribe from Sharp in exchange for their influence on winning
legislative approval for Sharp’s banking bills.
“If you and I are walking down the street and I say ‘Let’s go to
the movie,’ and we go into the theater, that’s a positive agreement,”
chief prosecutor Bob Smith told one newsman Monday. “The agree
ment is proved by what happened.”
Asked if the agreement in his hypothetical case could be
unspoken, with one man merely nodding toward the theater marquee.
Smith said, “yes, the agreement need not be written or spoken.”
What happened in this case, the state says is that the three
defendants all borrowed from Sharp’s bank on the same day, bought
stock in Sharp’s insurance company of the same day and sold their
stock at fat profits a month and a half later, two days after Sharp’s bills
sailed through the legislature.
The state alleges the three political figures peddled their
legislative influence in winning passage of two bank deposit insurance
bills sought by Sharp in 1969.
Prosecutors attempted to show through 14 witnesses and seven
days of testimony that Sharp ordered unsecured loans for the trio from
the Sharpstown State Bank in Houston.
The money was funnelled into stock in Sharp-controlled National
Bankers Life Insurance Co., reaping fast, five-figure profits for Mutscher
and his colleagues.
Among those who also profited from the loan-stock deals were
Mutscher aide F. C. Schulte, the Speaker’s father. Gov. Smith and
former Democratic state chairman Elmer Baum.
The state produced evidence last week indicating that Sharp
negotiated the sale of the group’s NBL stock Sept. 11, 1969, two days
after the banking bills won legislative approval.
Smith later vetoed the bills.
Evidence indicated the three defendants and their associates
received $20 per share for their stock on a day when the average market
price was $14.75.
Prior to Monday afternoon’s session, the defense offered little
indication of its plans concerning Sharp, who was among the first to
testify for the state.
The defense deferred cross-examination at the time but retained
the privilege of calling him back at a later date.
Sharp told the jury of his friendship with Mutscher and of a
Houston meeting arranged by the speaker in which Mutscher expressed
an interest in NBL stock.
Sharp said Mutscher was disturbed about heavy losses suffered in
an earlier stock investment.
“I smiled .. . and he smiled,” Sharp said, recalling the conclusion
of that meeting.
The Houston financier said the speaker later contacted him about
financing loans for him and his associates and that Sharp subsequently
gave his “blessing” to such loans.
The criminal indictment against Mutscher, McGinty and Shannon,
stemmed from a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure
of Sharp’s bank-stock manipulations.
Sharp pleaded guilty to two minor offenses in return for
immunity from federal and state prosecution. He received a probated
three-year sentence and paid a $5,000 fine.
the Battalion
Mild,
partly
cloudy
Wednesday — Partly cloudy to
cloudy. Afternoon thunderstorms.
Winds 10-15 mph. Gusty and
thunderstorms. High 81°, low 64°.
Thursday — Same as Wednes
day.
Vol. 67 No. 93
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, March 14, 1972
845-2226
Farenthold terms competitors
contaminated, behind the times
y
Tra in this race to give voters
(better choice than two contami
nated candidates and a legislator
from the ’50’s,” said Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Frances
(Sissy) Farenthold at a lunch
eon in College Station Monday.
She is a 44-year-old lawyer
and graduate of Vassar and the
University of Texas Law School.
She has represented Corpus
Christi for the last two legisla
tive terms. Considered the “den
mother” of the “Dirty 30,” the
liberal minority in the legisla
ture, Mrs. Farenthold feels that
her real hope for success lies
with young people.
A crowd of about 250 people,
mostly middle-aged, greeted Mrs.
Farenthold with a standing ova
tion when she entered the Ramada
Inn banquet room to give a brief
speech. Banners in the back
ground of the banquet room read,
“End Pollution in Austin,” and
"Honesty and Decency in Texas
Government.”
In her speech Mrs. Farenthold
tmphasized that business inter-
(sts have priority in the state
legislature and not the problems
of the common man. She feels
that the Sharpstown dealings
have helped bring this situation
out in front of the public.
A recent study, according to
Mrs. Farenthold, has shown that
Texas spends comparatively lit
tle money on minority group edu
cation. The legislature, she con
tends, has been “sweeping the
problem under the rug” and has
been ignoring the plight of mi
nority groups.
She favors allowing public em-
loyes to collective bargain. “Fif
teen states allow this but not
Texas,” she added.
The democratic candidate ver
bally attacked two of her com
petitors for the governorship.
She called Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes
a “scarred politician” who has a
poor record. She feels his sup
port of grocery and gasoline tax
es were not in the interest of the
people. Mrs. Farenthold criti
cized Gov. Preston Smith for his
indifference towards the act call
ing for a filing fee for state of
fice.
“The governor can’t bring him
self to veto unconstitutional
acts,” she said.
In a short question-and-answer
session, the candidate said she
was dismayed that the House
speaker will be chosen before the
people have a chance to vote and
change the face of the legisla
ture.
When asked about the Trinity
River Project, she said her first
concern in such matters is the
ecological effect.
The Corpus Christi solon gave
another short speech in front of
a predominantly student group
at the Unitarian Fellowship
Church Monday night. At this
time she declared that “for all
practical purposes we have no
legislative body.”
Mrs. Farenthold feels it was
the legislature’s responsibility to
conduct an impartial investiga
tion into Mutscher’s bribery
charges. She, along with the rest
of the “Dirty 30,” attempted to
have this investigation begun but
were unsuccessful.
She proposed having students
on college boards of regents as
non-voting ex-officio members
and was equally unsuccessful in
her attempts. She particularly
asked that student body presi
dents of the University of Texas
at Austin, El Paso and Arlington
be placed on their respective
boards.
Texas’s 1874 state constitution
was renamed “the concept of con
fused authority,” by Mrs. Faren
thold. She would like to see the
constitution rewritten but not by
the legislature. She favors hav
ing citizen delegates elected by
the people to make up a consti
tutional convention.
She feels the time has come
for legislators to start talking
about a personal income tax in
Texas.
“A corporate profit tax should
come first,” she emphasized.
Concerning government ap
pointment, Mrs. Farenthold
wants “to take the polluters off
the pollution control boards.” In
addition she intends, if elected,
to make minority group appoint
ments.
“I came from the people and
I am going back to them for sup
port,” she said.
Applications available
for general elections
Applications are now avail
able at the Student Programs
Office for student office elec
tions to be held April 13 and
14.
The filing has opened and the
deadline is March 23, at 5 p.m.,
said Student Senate President
John Sharp.
Student senate officers must
have a 2.5 overall G.P.R. to
run, senators a 2.25 G P.R., and
other class officers a 2.00
G.P.R., he noted.
The major offices such as
senate offices, civilian student
council offices and yell leaders
will be voted on April 13, Sharp
said. The remaining, lesser
positions, will be voted on the
following day.
FOR THE FIRST TIME at A&M the Diamond Darlin’s went through the batgirl rou
tine at Monday’s doubleheader. Here Penny Ball helps pass the game with bench
warming Dennis Brantley a sophomore pitcher. (Photo by Robert Williams)
Texas World Speedway picks up steam
l r GrH! At least that is what this worker seems to be
saying as he sweeps out the bottom of the cooling towers
in the Physical Plant. The gunk is an accumulation of
whatever falls into a cooling tower in 18 years—though
we won’t go into that. (Photo by Robert Williams)
By LARRY MARSHALL
Staff Writer
After a slow, uncertain start,
Texas World Speedway is begin
ning to pick up steam and develop
into a first-class racing facility,
said General Manager George
Boyett.
The problem-plagued track op
ened in 1969, but suffered from
severe financial problems from
the very beginning, said Boyett.
“The people who built the track
had visions of owning a series of
tracks all over the country and
this was to be one of them,” com
mented Boyett.
But the owners were so heavily
in debt from the other invest
ments, that they lost the facility
in bankruptcy. “The track never
really was given a chance because
there never was enough money
available, so it could not be suc
cessful,” he said.
The track was purchased by
Don Holloway Sr. at the end of
last September for an undisclosed
amount.
“The first thing we did was
to contact the National Associa
tion for Stock Car Auto Racing
University National Bank
“On the side of Texas A&M.”
—Adv.
(NASCAR) to set up a race. They
gave us the O.K. for sanction and
we scheduled a race for early in
December last year,” Boyett ex
plained.
“That race was rained out and
a lot of people got upset about
it,” he stated, “but our official
attendance was still 18,600 peo
ple. ' | :
“That race was not really a
good indicator of success, so we
have scheduled our next big race
for June 25. All our future plans
hinge on this upcoming event,”
Boyett commented.
One of the biggest complaints
resulting from the last race was
about parking. The race was held
following a rainy period and
many people were stuck in the
grass field used for parking.
Plans include rolling and com
pacting this area before the next
race. “This is another thing hing
ing on the success of the June
event, if we do well we may gravel
that area,” he said.
The speedway is located on a
770-acre lot about 10 miles south
of College Station on State High
way 6. The site was chosen be
cause of its relative position in
the state.
“When the track was being
laid out, the designers wanted
a state-wide facility instead of
building it adjacent to one of the
larger cities in Texas. The Bryan-
College Station area is centrally
located within easy driving dis
tance of most major population
centers,” said Boyett.
“They also had a study done
which showed that the average
race fans drives a 250-mile round-
trip to see an event. This and the
availability of an ideal site with
out legal problems led them to
build here,” he said.
The people of Texas are as good
racing fans as you can find any
where, Boyett stated, but they
have been kind of let down by
racing.
“We want to let people know
that we are operating and when
we say we will have a race we
will The people who had tickets
for races that were cancelled in
the past Were given free tickets
for our last race,” Boyett stated.
Plans for publicizing the up
coming race include coverage in
the print media and on television
and radio.
“Several local television sta
tions will come out and film spe
cials at the speedway to show on
their news programs. This is
good,” he said.
“We are also planning on hav
ing several drivers come in a few
days early with their cars and
having them talk with people at
various places while their cars
are on display,” Boyett said.
There is a possibility for tele
vising the races in the future,
Boyett noted, but this is done
through NASCAR’S contract with
ABC. The track does not have
very much to do with it. If it did
happen, the surrounding area for
about 250 miles would be blacked
out, he emphasized.
“Between major events at the
track, other groups will be using
the track. The Sports Car Club
of America (SCCA) and the TA-
MU Sports Car Club are among
these,” Boyett said.
Harris speaks at A&M Wednesday
concerning ‘The New Populism’
Sen. Fred R. Harris, Democrat
who advocates deconcentration of
wealth and power in the U. S.,
will speak Wednesday at A&M
in a Political Forum presenta
tion.
The senior senator from Okla
homa will speak on “The New
Populism,” which he examined
in a book published last April.
In his book, “Now Is The
Time: A New Populist Call to
Action,” Harris proposed a new
populist coalition, a joining of
Americans of disparate back
grounds and across race and age
lines to move America in ways
he believes are urgently needed.
Political Forum chairman-elect
Mike Lindsey announced that the
noon hour Harris talk will be in
the Memorial Student Center
Ballroom. The Harris program
will be conducted by the 1972-73
committee. Lindsey officially
succeeds the current chairman,
Paul Turner, at the end of this
school year.
An avowed liberal, Harris led
a Senate movement to reform
the seniority system. He chairs
the Senate Democratic Caucus
Committee on Senate Reform.
The former Oklahoma state sen
ator was among active members
of the President’s National Ad
visory Commission on Civil Dis
orders (K e r n e r Commission)
which reported on urban riots of
1967.