I
Probe asks aides
to explain conduct
in Mills milk fund
r
WASHINGTON (AP) — A
Watergate grand jury has ques
tioned three current and former
aides to Rep. Wilbur D. Mills about
milk-fund money used in the Arkan
sas Democrat s brief 1972 presiden
tial campaign.
In recent weeks the Watergate
prosecutors have summoned Mills’
administrative assistant, Oscar
Eugene Goss, and two former cam
paign officials, Charles Ward of
Conway, Ark., and Betty Clement
Bullock of Little Rock.
Goss said he appeared voluntar
ily, without a subpoena, and was
questioned about links between the
Mills campaign and Associated Milk
Producers Inc., the big dairy
cooperative that recently pleaded
guilty to donating $5,000 illegally to
Mills.
Goss said the questions con
cerned the $5,000 cash gift, which
allegedly passed through his hands,
and the use of corporate money by
the co-op to pay salaries and ex
penses of Mills campaign workers.
Use of corporate money in federal
election campaigns is prohibited by
law.
Mills, reached by telephone at his
suburban Virginia home, said he has
not been called to testify by pro
secutors. Earlier this year, Mills de
clined two requests by the now-
disbanded Senate Watergate com
mittee to appear for questioning.
Mills, asked for comment on the
summoning of Goss and the other
witnesses, said only: “I don’t know
anything about it. I just know
they’ve been up there, that’s all.”
Mrs. Bullock, who received a
subpoena, confirmed in a telephone
interview that she had been ques
tioned for about two hours last
Tuesday. But she added: “I’d just
rather not comment on it.”
According to Watergate commit
tee testimony, Mrs. Bullock worked
as a secretary for the Mills campaign
for several months while receiving
salary and expenses from the corpo
rate funds of the milk producers’
co-op.
Ward, who headed the early
“draft-Mills”efTorts in 1971 and
early 1972, was not immediately av
ailable for comment.
Concerning the $5,000 cash gift,
Goss said he had testified that he has
“no independent recollection” of
having handled the money.
He said he testified that if he had
received such a gift, he might well
have failed to ask whether it came
from corporate funds, because he
knew that the milk producers had a
legal political trust for making dona
tions to candidates.
Goss said he was questioned
about Mrs. Bullock and two other
campaign workers, Joe P. Johnson
and Terry Shea, who allegedly were
paid corporate salaries by the
dairymen while working on the
Mills campaign.
Johnson, who worked as
Mills’traveling campaign aide and
who succeeded Ward as campaign
manager, declined to testify about
the matter to the Watergate com
mittee earlier this year on grounds
of possible self-incrimination.
Goss said he had testified that he
was unaware of who was paying
salaries for Johnson, Bullock and
Shea.
This contrasts with testimony
given to the Watergate committee
by David L. Parr, former special
counsel for the milk producers. Parr
said he believed Goss was aware of
the co-op’s payment of salaries. “I
am sure they knew it. We didn’t try
to hide it,” Parr testified.
Parr pleaded guilty on J uly 23 to
charges including donation of
$5,000 in corporate money to the
Mills campaign, a gift he said he had
sent to Goss.
Parr is awaiting sentencing.
The co-op itself also pleaded
guilty to similar charges and was
fined the maximum $35,000.
"\
Today in the Bait
House fire p. 3
SGexec p. 3
Cancer p. 5
V
Che Battalion
Weather
Fair and mild today and
tomorrow. Easterly winds
5-10 mph. High Tuesday
79°; low tonight 57°; high
Wednesday 83°.
Vol. 68 No. 17
College Station, Texas
Tuesday, October 1, 1974
$500,000
malpractice
suit filed
A Heame couple filed a $500,000
suit Friday in district court against
St. Joseph Hospital and Dr. Leon
W. B. Rasberry, a local private prac
titioner, following the death of their
son.
The suit, filed by Gary and Carol
Broadus, alleges gross negligence
by the defendants and uncontrolled
conditions at the hospital while
Mrs. Broadus was giving birth Jan.
6. According to the suit, the baby,
Jason Lloyd Broadus, was allowed
to fell on the floor on his head in the
delivery room shortly after birth.
The child was rushed to Texas
Children’s Hospital in Houston
where he died 23 hours later.
Mike Strohowski, assistant hospi
tal administrator at St. Joseph’s,
said, “I had no knowledge of the suit
being filed and have no comment to
make at this time. ”
A hearing date on the suit has not
been set.
Faculty groups
attack LeMaistre
for Spurr firing
ENTERTAINMENT was provided by Pete Seller at the Basement Committee presentation on Friday
night. (Photo by Chris Svatek)
AUSTIN, Tex. (AP)—University
of Texas system Chancellor Charles
LeMaistre was attacked on several
faculty fronts Monday for firing
UT-Austin President Stephen
Spurr last week without public exp
lanation.
The School of Humanities faculty
voted 85-1, with six abstaining, to
express lack of confidence in
LeMaistre and to call for his im
mediate resignation.
In another action, three commit
tees met jointly to adopt a no confi
dence resolution against the chan
cellor.
Strachan gets separate trial
A general faculty meeting Tues
day, chaired by acting President
Dr. Lorene Rogers, will take up the
no-confidence resolution, which has
no binding force against Le Maistre.
Passing the resolution were the
local chapters of the American As
sociation of University Professors
and the Texas Association of College
Teachers, along with the executive
committee of the Faculty Senate.
“The chancellor’s failure to con
sult with the faculty and students in
dismissing President Spurr, and his
refusal subsequently to provide
reasons for his summary and unilat
eral action, have again shown the
chancellor’s complete contempt for
the academic community and the
people of Texas. We therefore ex
press our lack of confidence in
Chancellor Charles LeMaistre, ” the
resolution said.
An attempt to bring the resolu
tion before the full faculty Senate
fizzled Monday after several mem
bers said it would make no sense to
act before the full general faculty
had a chance to act.
In another development, 16
deans issued a statement expressing
confidence in Spurr and asserting
that his firing “has done severe
damage to the university. The his
tory of interference in the academic
functioning of the University is
widely known.”
Watergate cover up trial begins
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S.
District Judge John J. Sirica will
begin the Watergate coverup trial
Tuesday with five defendants in
stead of six.
With 4 hours to go before the start
of jury selection, Sirica granted
Monday a request from Special Pro
secutor Leon Jaworski that former
White House aide Gordon Strachan
be given a separate trial. .
The renewed request from
Strachan’s lawyers that the conspi
racy, obstruction of justice and per
jury charges against him be dismis
sed was turned down by Sirica.
Among the five remaining defen
dants are three of former President
Richard Nixon’s closest advisors, H.
R. Haldeman, John D. Erhlichman
and former Atty. Gen. John N.
Mitchell.
Meanwhile, Sirica tried in a
closed hearing Monday to clear up
remaining legal issues.
Among those apparently called to
testify at the closed hearing was
former White House chief of staff
Haldeman, whose lawyers are ques
tioning the accuracy of transcripts of
White House tapes prepared by the
special prosecutor’s office.
Another issue is whether the 33
presidential tapes the prosecutors
want used as evidence can be au
thenticated without an appearance
in the courtroom by Nixon.
While the transcripts question is
likely to be cleared up before Sirica
begins questioning a pool of 1,000
prospective jurors, the authentica
tion issue is likely to be held off for a
week or 10 days.
Also on Monday, Sirica decided
that half the public seats in the cour
troom would go to spectators who
are expected to line the halls of the
U.S. District Courthouse in hopes
of getting a seat.
The order sharply limits the
number of news organizations
which can be represented full time
in the courtroom.
Inside the courtroom, techni
cians were busy placing finishing
touches on the listening system
which will allow the jury and
everyone else to hear the White
House tapes on individually instal
led earphones.
CS employes suit
dismissal denied
Ford will personally
testify about pardon
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi
dent Ford told a House subcommit
tee he will personally appear to tes
tify on why he gave former Presi
dent Richard M. Nixon a pardon.
The President told Chairman
William L. Hungate, D-Mo., of the
House Judiciary subcommittee in a
brief letter Monday that he would
personally respond to the 14 ques
tions raised by two resolutions be
fore the subcommittee.
Ford said he would like to arrange
the personal testimony within the
next 10 days, Hungate said.
Hungate said it would be the first
personal testimony by a sitting pres
ident before Congress since that of
Abraham Lincoln.
The chairman said White House
research shows that only Presidents
Lincoln and Washington testified
before Congress while they were in
office and that Theodore Roosevelt
testified before Congress after he
left the White House.
The questions Ford agreed to
answer are on details of whether
White House Chief of Staff Alexan
der M. Haig Jr. suggested the par
don for Nixon, what agreements
were made in connection with the
pardon and whether Ford’s granting
of it was based on any knowledge of
Nixon’s mental or physical health.
Before the subcommittee are so-
called resolutions of inquiry intro
duced by Reps. Bella S. Abzug,
D-N.Y., and John Conyers Jr.,
D-Mich., which, if approved by the
House, would demand the answers
within 10 days.
In a “Dear Bill” letter, delivered
to Hungate’s office shortly before 8
p.m. EDT, the President said:
“This is to advise you that I expect
to appear personally to respond to
the questions raised in House resol
utions 1367 and 1370.
“It would be my desire to arrange
this hearing before your subcom
mittee at a mutually convenient
time within the next 10 days.”
Rep. Abzug asked for details on
when and who first mentioned the
pardon to Ford, whether it was Haig
during the week Nixon resigned as
President and what promises or
conditions were set for Nixon’s par
don.
Her resolution also asks whether
Ford consulted with Atty. Gen.
William B. Saxbe, Special Water
gate Prosecutor Leon Jaworski,
Vice President-designate Nelson A.
Rockefeller or any other attorneys
or law professors before deciding to
grant the pardon, and if so, what
legal authority they cited.
Her resolution asks whether Ford
or his aides asked Nixon to give a
confession or statement of criminal
guilt and whether the statement
Nixon did make when he received
the pardon was cleared in advance
with Ford’s White TIouse.
Finally it asks, “Did you receive
any report from a psychiatrist or any
other physician stating that Richard
Nixon was in any other than good
health? If so, then please provide
such reports.”
Charges on Sparkey
will not be dropped
By STEVE GRAY
Staff Writer
Two assault charges filed against
Malcolm “Sparkey” Hardee on July
24 by The College Station, 109 Wal
ton Dr., will not be dropped,
County Attorney Roland Searcy
said Monday.
Hardee, former candidate for
state representative and owner of
Sparkey’s at 120 Walton Dr., was
charged with two counts of assault
after allegedly fighting with John
Morris, owner of The College Sta
tion, and-Carl Khuen, a bartender at
the night club.
The squabble occurred July 24
when circulars were distributed
contending the club treated its cus
tomers better than Sparkey’s.
Morris told The Battalion, Wed
nesday, that the charges would be
dropped since Hardee had
apologized.
However, Searcy said Monday he
had talked with Morris and decided
not to drop the charges.
Searcy said once charges are filed
in the county attorney’s office it is
up to him to decide whether or not
charges can be dropped.
“The charges were filed and we
intend to go through with the tiral.
He (Morris) did not understand that
he did not have the option of drop
ping the charges after they were
filed. That is the county attorney’s
policy,” Searcy said.
Morris would not comment on
the matter when contacted Mon
day. Hardee’s assault trial is set for
Nov. 21.
U.S. District Court Judge Wood-
row Seals denied a defense motion
Monday to dismiss a $400,000 law
suit by Ralph Bobbitt, owner of
Bobbitt Trailer Park, against 12 pre
sent and former College Station city
officials.
The motion to dismiss the suit
was heard in Houston Sept. 23.
Originally, a suit was filed Aug. 8
by Bobbitt requesting $50,000 in
damages, but was amended to
$400,000 Thursday in the U.S. Dis
trict Court for the Southern District
of Texas.
In the original and amending
suits, Bobbitt claims that he was de
nied due process and equality under
the law when the city closed his
mobile home park at Farm Road 60
West in January of 1973. The city
contends the park did not meet
electrical standards.
The amending suit says that the
defendants, J. B. Hervey, former
mayor; James H. Dozier, former
city attorney and currently a city
councilman; and city employes Ran
Boswell, L. P. Dulaney, D. B.
Jones, Walter J. Coney, W. E.
Johnson, and R. M. Williams, did
not give Bobbitt the specific re
quirements, if the park did not in
fact meet city’s requirements.
Bobbitt claims in the amending
suit that the defendants tried to
drive him out of business.
Bobbitt said he suffered physical
and mental pain, anguish, distress,
public humiliation and ridicule, and
is demanding $100,000 compensat
ory damages and $300,000 exemp
lary damages. The plaintiff also asks
that his court costs be bom by the
City of College Station.
The suit says that Bobbitt has
been denied his rights under the
Fifth, Ninth, 10th and 14th
Amendments of the U.S. Constitu
tion and under civil rights statutes.
The City Council has Sears &
Burns, a Houston law firm, handl
ing the case.
The council has passed a resolu
tion defending both past and pres
ent city officials and employes, stat
ing that all the defendants were act
ing as city agents enforcing city or
dinances. Councilman Dozier abs
tained from voting on the resolution
and the retainment of the Houston
law firm handling the case because
of his involvement in the suit.
ACTIONS AND REACTIONS bring life to the Aggie Players’ production of “Lovers
and Other Strangers.” The play opens October 7 in the Rudder Center Forum. B. J.
Strode and Kent Brown practice their roles as Johnny and Wilma in the section of the
play by the same name. (Photo by Douglas Winship)
A&M ranked fifth in the nation—see Page 6