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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 25, 1974)
Che Battalion Vol. 68 No. 14 College Station, Texas Wednesday, September 25, 1974 Review of illegal session to be held Emergency council meeting called to deal with utilities The Brazos Valley Development closed session to discuss only per- Council will hold a meeting Oct. 3 sonnel matters, pending litigation to reconsider decisions made in to which the body is a part, or the closed session at last month’s meet- acquiring of land or real property, ing. Three firms submitted proposals In executive session the council during the session: Southwest Re heard proposals from firms in- search Institute of San Antonio, terested in conducting an evalua- South/West Planning Associates of tion of local emergency medical ser- Bryan and Alexander Grant and vices. Company of Dallas. County Judge William R. Vance, District Judge William Davis, legal council to the BVDC, told The chairman of the BVDC executive Battalion the closed session violated committee, said the firms have been the Texas Open Meetings Law. sent a letter explaining the error and The open meetings law allows asking them to resubmit their prop- governmental bodies to meet in osals in the open session. By STEVE GRAY Staff Writer College Station City Council, meeting in an emergency session Tuesday afternoon, voted unanim ously to give Mayor O. M. Holt au thority to release any claim the city may have in a blanket utility ease ment covering a two-acre tract at Eastgate. The tract, located between Pop lar and Live Oak Streets off High way 6, is being purchased by Build ing Consultants 2, Inc. The land is owned by Tommy Arhopulos of Wellborn. The emergency meeting was cal led when a representative for Arhopulos asked where the ease ments were located on the tract at the council’s regular meeting Mon day night. The matter was held until Tuesday afternoon so that the coun cil could study the locations on a Rocky ’s view of Nixon ‘Acceptance indicates guilt’ WASHINGTON (AP)—Vice President-designate Nelson A. Rockefeller said today that former President Richard M. Nixon’s ac ceptance of a presidential pardon ^ was in his view “tantamount to ad mitting guilt. | Rockefeller made the comment as his vice presidential confirmation hearings before the Senate Rules Committee went through a second day. All indications were that the panel would overwhelmingly ap prove the former New York gover nor for the nation’s vacant No. 2 post. » He backed off slightly from his insistence Monday that the Rock efeller family’s economic power was a myth. Under questioning by Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., he con ceded that Rockefeller wealth did involve a potential influence on the world’s and nation’s economy. On the pardon, Rockefeller re peated his earlier support of Ford’s action as “the right thing at the right time,” considering all the circums tances. In summing up the climax of the events of the past two years. Rock efeller said: “The President ac cepted a pardon which, in my opin ion, is tantamount to admitting guilt.” On Monday, at the opening of hearings before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee on his nomination to be vice president. Rockefeller said the widespread be lief that his family can control the economy through interlocking per sonal, institutional and corporate fortunes is myth. As the second day of hearings began Rockefeller was asked re peatedly by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., if he would be able as vice president or president to separate the interests of big business from those of the nation. “Yes, sir, no problem,’’ the former New York governor replied. As the hearing began, committee Chairman Howard W. Cannon, D-Nev., chastised the nation’s three television networks for not carrying the hearings live. Cannon said the networks were doing the public a disservice by not giving the hearings more attention and broader coverage. Mutscher bribery conviction upheld AUSTIN, Tex. (AP) — The con victions of former House Speaker Gus Mutscher and two associates on charges of conspiring to accept a bribe were upheld unanimously Tuesday by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Mutscher’s lawyer, Frank Maloney, said a decision would be made soon on whether to appeal to the federal courts. Indicted three years ago Monday, Mutscher, former Rep. Tommy Shannon of Fort Worth and Mutscher aide Rush McGinty drew five-year probated sentences on the Ides of March, 1972, after convic tion by an Abilene jury. The state charged them with ag reeing to accept bribes in the form of loans from the Sharpstown State Bank of Houston promoter Frank Sharp in 1969. The money was used to buy stock in National Bankers Life Insurance Co., which was controlled by Sharp. In exchange for loans, the state alleged, the defendants worked for the passage of two banking bills Sharp wanted. The bills passed but were later vetoed by Gov. Preston Smith. The defendants sold NBL stock the day after the bills passed for twice the over-the-counter price. The buyer was a Jesuit priest who was a friend of Sharp. The Mutscher trial was the most widely publicized event growing out of a series of scandals that rocked state government two years ago. The turnover in the House mem bership was more than half. Musicians cancel TAMU concert for second time hoggins and Messina cancelled an appearance at A&M for the second year in a row. The group lost a horn player and felt it could not give,a quality show, said Doug Thorpe, chairman of Town Hall. An alternative group was discussed for the Oct. 18 date at the MSC Directorate meeting Monday. Directorate members decided to try to get Guess Who, but no definite plans have been made. Thorpe said that refunds will be available for those who have ordered tickets. Senate Republican Leader Hugh Scott voiced a similar criticism on Monday. Byrd turned the questioning to last winter’s energy crisis and Rock efeller said he does not believe the nation’s oil companies willfully created a petroleum shortage last year as part of a conspiracy to raise their prices. “In my opinion if the United States last year had not had si* or 12 major oil companies producing or distributing oil around the world this country would have faced a major disaster,’’ Rockefeller said. Rockefeller presented a short statement clarifying the financial situation of Rockefeller Center in New York City. He said the center’s net worth as of Dec. 31, 1973, was $123 million, most of which is accounted for by its ownership of buildings. He said the at-cost value of sec urities held by the center amounts to about $13.9 million. Rockefeller underwent question ing on Monday about matters rang ing from his personal and family fi nances to his approval of New York’s controversial abortion reform law. plat. Pat Cooper, vice president and secretary for the corporation, ap peared before the council Tuesday and asked if the easements had been located. He said the exact locations were needed before any construction could begin after the land was purchased. “There is a blanket easement lo cated across the entire tract of land, which means the city has the right to place utilities anywhere it wants to on the easement. We were trying to get the specific locations from which the utilities were crossing from,” Cooper said. , The Bryan Rural Electrification Administration (REA) has owned the easement since 1939. A water and sewer line runs parallel to the tract along Live Oak Street. A power line easement also runs along Highway 6 in front of the tract. Cooper told the council he knew nothing about the easement until Tuesday. “Once we purchase the property we will grant the city an easement for the water and sewer line that already exists,’’ Cooper said. He also said a future easement will be granted to the city for a storm sewer running from Poplar Street to Highway 6. City Manager North Bardell said Cooper did not know of the water and sewer easement because it was never recorded. “We cannot find any record of an easement where that sewer line is located. Apparently, in 1947 there was a water line and a sanitary sewer line installed along Live Oak Street. We had to actually dig up the line in three places to make sure it actually existed,” Bardell said. Bardell said the new owners of the tract will grant the easements as soon as possible. “The property transfer will prob ably take place as soon as the city of Bryan releases their blanket ease ment,” Bardell said. NEW SHELVING for the library will help alleviate the problem of new materials having no place to be displayed. These are the beginning of $70,000 worth of new shelving. (Photo courtesy of University Information) County park plans stalled Action on grant application awaited By ROSEMARY TRAVERSO Staff Writer Preparation for the Brazos County Park is at a standstill be cause of uncertainty over financial aid from the Economic Develop ment Administration (EDA). Application for a grant was made to the EDA on Sept. 9 by Brazos County. The park site consists of 50 Today “Reform” legislation in 1973 curbed the speaker’s power and im posed financial disclosure require ments on state officials. The defendants attacked the con victions on three main grounds: in sufficiency of the evidence, legisla tive immunity and vagueness of the bribery statute. All three of these might be used in any appeal to fed eral courts. The state failed to ask Sharp if there was a conspiracy. This was a strong circumstance showing Sharp would have said no and therefore that no conspiracy existed, the de fense said. The high court’s 34-page opinion, written by Judge W. A. Morrison, said there was an important distinc tion between this case and one re lied upon by the defense. The in dictment in this case carefully av oided naming Sharp as a co conspirator, Morrison said. “Under this indictment, the state was required to prove only that an agreement among the appellants defendants had been made,” the judge said. The speech and debate clause of the U. S. Constitution does not apply to state legislators, Morrison said, and legislative immunity granted in the Texas Constitution does not shield illegal conduct. On the vagueness point, Morri son quoted from the defense brief: “The ultimate question to be resol ved is: ‘Does the title of the bill give fair notice of its contents?’ ” “We answer this question,” Mor rison said, “with a resounding ‘Yes.’ “When the appellants accepted their positions of trust they were charged with the knowledge that the law prohibited them from cer tain types of conduct. A part of this prohibited conduct was that they might not enter into an agreement to assist in the passage of legislation in exchange fora reward,” Morrison said. The judge said the bribery statute clearly warned “anyone of ordinary intelligence that the kind of conduct embarked on by appellants would constitute an offense.” Mutscher’s wife, Donna, Miss America of 1964, stood by him throughout the 1972 trial. Last June, she filed for a divorce. He reportedly is in the cattle and real estate business in his home town of Brenham. Today in the Batt Music review . . . .p. UT president . . . .p. Big Thicket p. Weather Mostly cloudy with inter mittent rain Wednesday. Northeasterly winds 12-17 mph. High 72°. Becoming partly cloudy and warmer Thursday with a high of 80°. Low tonite 60°. •.Wx* •X : : : : 1 I •X &: X; acres just east of the Highway 6 by pass and south of the proposed Briarcrest Drive East extension. Plans for development of the county’s first park were initiated by the County Commissioners Court in June. A planning grant for the park has been obtained from the EDA through the Brazos Valley Development Council. County Judge William R. Vance and County Commissioner Walter Wilcox, coordinator of the project. agreed that no definite plans can be made until the EDA decision is known. “The EDA decision will mean two things,” Vance said. “It will tell the amount of bond needed and whether we can afford the park or will have to do it in stages.” The maximum grant rate in the Brazos area is 50 percent of the total cost of the project, said Jan Miller, EDA spokesman. The cost is esti mated at $1.5 million. “We need to know where all the money will come from before we ask the people to vote on it, ” Vance said Thursday. “There will be no way to get a bond issue in the 45 days be fore the November elections.” According to Miller, the EDA should reach a decision within a month. The Brazos County Park is only one of the many applications, totaling $135 million, presently under EDA consideration. ACLU blasts ‘bribe’ system on basis of denial of rights Dual interest By MARY RUSSO Staff Writer A sophisticated bribe system to modify human behavior has come under fire by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on the basis of denial of basic human rights. The ACLU charges certain prog rams run under the token economy system with making basic human living impossible under the im posed conditions. B.F. Skinner, Harvard be- havioralist, first forwarded the idea. Token economies were used in * * * Prof feels conflict A basic conflict of interests is bothering John Kagel, Brazos county ACLU president. He has re cently become aware of the possible illegality of research in the field of behavior modification and token economies. Kagel is a member of the Economics Department and has done experiments on behavioral economics. While doing research, Kagel studied the effects of inflation on a closed economy run on the token system. The subjects were patients in the Central Islip State Mental Hospital in New York. “These patients laid in their beds Assault, theft unable to do anything for them selves. The token economy worked in getting them moving again,” Kagel said. The tokens were awarded to the patients as they got up and around. Initially the patients worked for to kens to purchase their meals. As the patient’s skills improved they worked for greater numbers of to kens. The experiment made the tokens worth less when buying luxury items, said Kagel. “This became a basic denial of rights for some pa tients who were unable to keep up with the rising inflation of the goods,” he added. A good deal of research money is tied up in behavior modification and Kagel stated that one doctor he worked with at Islip feels threatened. “But the situation should be threatening to them. If people are messing around with someone’s legal and moral rights, even their jobs should be jeopardised,” said Kagel. As a member of the ACLU, per sonal rights are basic to him, Kagel says. With the challenges ACLU is making on behavior modification, Kagel’s choice of experimentation is going to be much tougher in the future. mental hospitals with great success to “cure” extremely apathetic and dependent patients. The system has since been used in prisons, schools and homes for juvenile deliquents. In hospital situations, food was taken away until the patient con formed to medically prescribed manners. Keeping himself clean, being well-mannered and various “socially acceptable” actions were the immediately rewarded be haviors. As treatment continued such things as doing odd jobs and learning to read were rewarded with tokens. With the tokens, the patients were allowed to buy extra food, out side passes, rent for a dormitory room and other desirable goods. When token economies moved into other fields, such as prisons, taking food away became a conflict of basic riehts. UT Soap p.«/v'Cxl co-*A'f McJacTe Tobacco SvrJ-'A'ci? aeo f+s. 160 pfe. too pfs 150 pk 300 fk 400 fh Z€0 fh The Virginia ACLU was the first to challenge the program in a prison. “They are incarcerated and they should have a choice about what happens to them. They have the ability to make the choice and should be given the right to make it,” said local ACLU president John Kagel. The Virginia ACLU has sued to take federal monies away from the Virginia program. “The ACLU has really gone off half-baked on this issue,” said Al bert Casey, behavior modification specialist with the Psychology De partment. “Professionals use only the most humane standards and methods, and professionals are involved in the Virginian program. I wish the ACLU would do their homework,” Casey said. VALUE SbcrH i'cl< < — SSI I 50 poiids fdovd Lotjor lo fOO p-fe. Sparky to have court date EXAGGERATED PERHAPS, but it gets the idea across. These cartoons demonstrate the questions raised by the ACLU about some token economy experiments. The experiments are used both to rehabilitate and for research. (Art by James Rawson) Malcolm “Sparky” Hardee will go to court today on two charges of as sault and one charge of theft. The College Station, a night club, filed charges against Hardee over an incident that occurred July 24 when some circulars were distributed contending that the club treats its people better than Sparky’s, owned by Hardee. “I had a little fight over this with John Morris and Carl Khuen,” Har dee said. Morris said, “Sparky came over to the place and apologized and I have decided to drop all charges.” Morris said Tuesday, “That will be made official in court today.” Hardee will still have to face a theft charge, stemming from an un related incident. Cullen Mancuso, owner ol U-RENT-M at 1904 Texas Ave., has filed charges against Hardee alleg ing the theft of a $90 paint spray gun. Hardee explained, “During my political campaign in April I hired a sign painter to make some posters. I did not know he rented the gun and he never asked me if he could. If he had, I would have known then.” Hardee was arrested for not re turning the gun or paying for it in August. He was released on $1,50C bond.