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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1974)
Page 4 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1974 Publicity erodes public confidence in Humphreys ABC administrator resigns under pressure ( AUSTIN, Tex. (AP) — O.N. Humphreys, the former state police intelligence chief who was hired to clean up the Texas Alcoholic Bever age Commission in 1968, resigned under pressure Wednesday. Humphreys, 50, said he quit as ABC Administrator because com mission member Joe Burkett of Kerrville asked him to. Burkett’s request, however, meant that Humphreys had lost the confidence of two of the three com missioners. R. L. Thornton Jr. of Dallas has been seeking Humphrey’s ouster since May. Officially, Humphreys, who has nearly 30 years of state service, re tired effective Dec. 1. Tom Gordon of Abilene, commission chairman, said Humphreys could have re mained, had he wished, in a lower echelon slot, such as district super visor at Longview. Burkett told reporters Hum phreys had done only a “fair job” as administrator. “Honest, yes, but as an adminis trator, he lacked a whole lot of being the administrator for this job,” Bur kett said. ”... In my judgment, our situation as an agency for the last 12 months has been deteriorating—morale, efficiency, the works. I personally concluded that some change had to be made for the good of the agency.” Gordon said he took no part in the decision to seek Humphreys’ resig nation. But he indicated the com mission felt the constant publicity about Thornton’s efforts to remove the administrator had so eroded public confidence in Humphreys that Humphreys had to go. The action took place behind closed doors following the commission’s monthly meeting, and Humphreys disclosed it in tes timony a few minutes later before the House Liquor Regulation Sub committee. Kenneth Cook, Humphreys’ chief assistant, was designated act ing administrator. Cook is scheduled to retire in about 30 days. “I have been asked to resign, and that is what I am going to do,” Humphreys told the startled com mittee members. ; “I was shocked, and the commit tee was shocked at what transpired because throughout the testimony there has been no criticism of the administration of the Alcoholic Be verage Commission. In fact, we have heard nothing but praises,” said Rep,. Frank Lombardino, D-San Antonio, the subcommittee chairman. Humphreys said he did not know why the commission majority Profs study job safety Some jobs can hurt a man two ways: they can break an arm or a leg or they can wait 20 years and give him cancer, black lung or em physema. Two professors have been re tained by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to explore careers that combine occu pational safety with the medical pro fession. Dr. Ralph Vernon and Dr. Richard Konzen said the study is being developed because “Con gress found that personal injuries and illnesses resulting from work situations were causing substantial losses to interstate commerce. The losses occur in the form of lost pro duction, wage loss, medical ex penses and disability compensation. “To preserve our human re sources, research is needed in de veloping innovative methods for dealing with occupational safety and health problems,” explained Ver non. “It also enables us to explore ways to discover latent diseases and establish connections between dis eases hnd working environmental conditions.” Which a Bacardi for a screw- drivers? Bacardi light rum’s subtle flavor won’t overpower or get lost in Screwdrivers, Bloody Marys, Martinis or tonic. Just use it like gin or vodka. BACARDI®rum. The mixable one. sought his resignation. He said that during the closed session, Thornton made “the usual motion that I be replaced. Mr. Burkett said, ‘Well, Newt, you said if I ever felt you needed to resign or retire, you said all I have to do is ask you. Now, I’m asking. ’ “I said, T respect you, I gave my word and I will keep it. I also asked why,” Humphreys said. He said Burkett brought up “how he had suggested in the past that some people be dismissed . . . and I had never taken any action on it. I said the reason why I had never taken any action was that Mr. Tom Gordon of Abilene, ABC chairman asked me not to, so we could pacify the man from Dallas, Thornton.” Humphreys quoted Gordon as saying he “didn’t know what to do with him, Thornton, and all this ad verse publicity we have been get- ting. The commission—then called the Texas Liquor Control Board—hired Humphreys in 1968 following a series of scandals. At the time, he was chief of the Department of Pub lic Safety’s intelligence section. Thornton, a Dallas banker, has criticized Humphreys publicly on many occasions, frequently for not providing the commission enough information. In July he complained that Hum phreys had sent the ABC budget to examiners for the governor’s office and the Legislative Budget Board without clearing it with the commis sion. Thornton particularly griped be cause the budget would have given Humphreys a pay raise without commission approval. Humphreys mentioned that dis pute when Rep. Joe Sage, R-San Antonio, asked about any possible commission dissatisfaction. He said the ABC budget officer, Rayford Walker, had asked his ad vice on the administrator’s salary. “I said he could leave it blank or set it as it was. Walker called Gordon, who told him to call Burkett, who said to “proceed with what the other agencies were doing” about their administrator’s salaries, Hum phreys said. All three commissioners, Hum phreys and Cook received sub poenas, even though they appeared voluntarily. A committee clerk said the purpose of the subpoenas was not to secure their presence but to make sure they would answer ques tions. Humphreys ran the day-to-day operations of the agency during a six-year period that included not only the house cleaning following the 1968 scandal but also major changes in Texas liquor laws. Three years after he was hired, the 1971 legislature—following up on a voter-approved constitutional amendment—enacted the state’s first modern law allowing public sale of liquor by the drink. Humphreys had his problems during his early years as adminis trator, notably with Rep. W. S. Heatly, D-Paducah, chairman until 1972 of the House Appropriations Committee. Heatly baited the in experienced, sometimes plodding administrator during several budget hearings. Recently, the ABC’s Dallas office was subject to an attorney genera]; investigation, made at commisskn ^‘ssioner request, because of alleged paddinj of travel vouchers. Hill reportedhf could detect no provable misttn. duct. In May, the commission out consulting Humphreys —4 moted enforcement division ctid Don Fishel and reassigned him chief of the ABC’s district office a San Angelo. During Wednesday’s com hearing, Gordon was asked direct}, if he thought Humphreys wasdoir^ a good job "I think Mr. Humphreys is dm a good job,” Gordon replied iroposal to ipdate tin system in ice. The met court spen him a __ OPEN MON. THRU SAT. 9: 9: 30 LAMP SALE IfllPgBi ^ .. ^ 1 ■ ■■ A COLOR CONSOLE BONANZA Reg. *549 - Your Choice 29 To37 High 50 % 0FF a. Elegant colonial styling with ma ple finish, solid state modular chas sis. Positive matrix picture tube, memory fine tuning, sharpness control. CATV jack $440 Save big for Christmas gifts on this assortment of various swags, table lamps, pole lamps and pin-ups. Hurry!! b. Light pecan Mediterranean fin ish. Solid state modular chassis. Set-and-forget volume; lighted channel indicator. Instant start. 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