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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 14, 1974)
Firsts recorded in political history THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 1*. 1874 Page 3 Ford first non-elected President TAMU political scientists and his torians were keeping close tabs on the unique situation Friday when Gerald Ford became the first non- ;lected Vice President, and non- jlected President in United States istory. The situation is one apart in American annals as President Richard Nixon resigned to hand jver the reins of power to Ford, who appeared on the Texas A&M cam pus as commencement speaker in May. Ford must now name a new Vice President, according to the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, lust as he was-picked by Nixon when Spiro Agnew resigned. Strangely, the succession unendment in theory could allow a whole string of appointed, not elected, Presidents and Vice Presi- ients, but TAMU assistant profes- >or of political science Dr. Jack Woods is quick to point out the 5uilt-in check. Both the House and Senate must confirm any newly appointed Vice resident, the only Presidential ac tion requiring both houses to con cur. The Congress and people who elect its members would provide a check there, notes Dr. Woods. But in theory, if the new Presi dent were an appointed Vice Presi dent before succeeding, as in this case, he would appoint a new Vice President. Under the unlikely cir cumstances that the man at the top <ept being removed from office for one reason or another and the two louses approved each new Vice President, America might see a chain of appointed officials at the top two posts until next election time. Dr. Herbert Lang, professor of listory, adds that Ford, upon suc cession, becomes the first non- elected Vice President and Presi dent in history. Other unusual developments stemming from the ascension of Ford and resignation of Nixon in clude: The first time a President will have been removed from office by resignation or impeachment. The first time a Vice President will have been appointed by, then will have succeeded, the President. The first time the government of the U. S. will have had three Vice Presidents in one Presidential term. Ford took over from Agnew and now he must appoint the third Vice President since 1972. Ford’s ap pointment earlier marked the first time there had been two Vice Presi dents in the same term. Powers of the President will largely remain unaffected, feels Dr. Woods. The future Presidents will still be Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and therefore most re sponsible for national security. That was one issue in the articles of impeachment the House Judiciary Committee felt was better left alone as they defeated it. In addition, Dr. Woods predicts the Congress would not try to de stroy future Presidents’ powers in foreign relations because of the Watergate scandal. He feels the power of Congress has reached a high point with the vote to televise proceedings, even though now unnecessary. The vote reminds future Presi dents that Congress can take hear ings on any subject before millions of Americans in their homes. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s televised hearings in the recent past placed great weight on President Lyndon Johnson not to run again, because the hearings made the people more aware of the President’s power of decision in Skrivanek urges Czech for schools J Why would anyone want to see the Czech language in the curricula ! of public schools? If the anyone you ask is J. J. Skrivanek Jr., TAMU instructor of modern languages, he will probably tell you that there are at least half a million known people of Czech an cestry in the Lone Star State. Then he’ll add that part of them read at least one of the five Czech language newspapers still printed in Texas and that Czech is the third most-spoken language in Texas be hind English and Spanish. Getting qualified teachers for public schools to instruct Czech has been a big problem and TAMU has again sent a select handful of lan guage students to Prague for a month of studies and tours. Skrivanek has just returned from the tour, the second year in a row for the journey, and he reports that the trip was educational for all. “Some of them told me they learned more in six weeks than in a whole year here and not just about the language but about history and traditions,” he noted. ® SBlTf 311 University — North Gate SMORGASBORD All You Can Eat For $149 DINNER: 5 pan. - 7 pan. PIZZA & SALAD SEVEN DAYS A WEEK Gameroonr With Pinball • Foosball • Pool OPEN - 3 p.m.-12 p.m. Sun.-Thuxs. 3 p.nu-l a.m. Fri. A Sat. r FREE DORM DELIVERY 846-1713 5 p.m. -11:30 p.m. HELP WANTED! * Manager Trainee * 4 Full & Part-Time Help * i APPLY IN PERSON ^ foreign relations and in undeclared Presidential power through televi- marked, the office was far from proached the office with a slightly gained in power and prestige until it wars, he says. sion and expanded press coverage. being the leadingfigure in the world flippant attitude. Dr. Woods noted. contained powers and duties hardly Woods emphasized the impor- In the past and at the time the as it is now. But over several wars and the in- imagined by the framers of the Con- tance of the relatively new check on Constitution was drawn up, he re imagined by the framers of the Con- In fact, some past Presidents ap- creasingly complexity, the office stitution. Here’s the solution to one problem! Twenty went from TAMU. They attended classes six to eight hours a day and had at their disposal a host of experts in various fields that regularly taught at Charles University in Prague. Weekends and evenings were spent in every-day activities includ ing tours and attempts to communi cate with the citizenry in ordinary situations. Five of 15 students who went last year are now teaching Czech in col leges. One, James Mendl Jr., is an Aggie. The problem of staying within your food budget with continually rising costs. How? By making dollars count on the big things. Like meat. You can count on FedMart to give you consistent low prices on meat, week-in, week-out, day-in, day-out. And you can count on FedMart’s quality too. Our Meat Department features USDA Choice Grade Beef cuts. So start shopping FedMart and begin counting your dollars instead of your problems. 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