Page 4 THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1975
Crush that butt!
Smoking ban suggested
‘Litter crete’ seems OK
AUSTIN (AP) — The Senate
Jurisprudence Committee voted
10-0 Tuesday to make smoking in
certain public places punishable by
a fine of up to $200.
Only one witness testified against
the bill, former Rep. Joe Ratliff,
who now works for the Texas As
sociation ofTobacco and Candy Dis
tributors.
“Let s not equate the irritation of
one’s eyes with the police power of
this state, Ratliff said.
Smoking in such places as
elevators is rude, said Ratliff, a
nonsmoker, but the legislature
should not “substitute law for man
ners.’
“Something that disturbs me
worse is people popping gum,’’ he
said.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Jack
Ogg, D-Houston, and would make
it unlawful to “be in possession of a
burning tobacco product or smoking
tobacco in an elevator, enclosed
theater or movie house, library,
museum, hospital, intrastate bus,
plane or train which is a public
place.
Special areas designated for
smoking would come under an ex-
Tower’s
third coat
sky blue
The new two million gallon water
tower at Texas A&M University will
get a third coat of paint.
Sky blue will be the finishing
coat, according to Charles Brunt,
construction manager at TAMU’s
Facilities Planning and Construc
tion Department.
An orange primer was applied
first, to help preserve the
187-foot-tall sheet metal structure.
The primer and dark blue base coat
have stirred considerable local dis
cussion.
Brunt said several steps remain in
the $785,000 new tower project. It
also lacks some inside painting, con
trols hookup and sanitizing. Then
the tank will lie filled.
Switchover to the rieW facility will
signal the end of the old
150,000-gallon tank bearing the
“Welcome to Aggieland” greeting.
The 50-year-old landmark will be
dismantled and probably sold for
scrap.
Take
time
to
check
By checking
“yes” on line 8
of your tax return,
you will designate
$1 ($2 on a joint
return) to help
finance the 1976
Presidential
Election.
This will not
reduce your
refund or
increase
your tax.
Internal
Revenue
Service
ception in the law.
Bob Laython, a Tyler engineer,
told the committee 10 to 15 per cent
more energy is needed to ventilate
an office building where smoking is
permitted.
As he talked. Sen. Bob Gam-
mage, D-Houston, smoked a cigar,
and Sen. Tati Santiesteban, D-El
Paso, smoked a cigarette.
Dr. Jim Calhoun of Austin, who
specializes in diseases of the heart,
chest and blood system, said he
would be put out of business if peo
ple quit smoking.
Dr. Charles Wade, associate
chemistry professor at the Univer
sity of Texas at Austin, said 30 peo
ple smoking in an auditorium that
seats 500 could push the air quality
to the emergency level under stan
dards set by the city of Los Angeles
for closing down industry.
John Cones, an Austin attorney,
said one-third of the states now have
some sort of nonsmokers-protection
law.
In other action, the committee
heard and sent to a subcommittee a
bill that would prohibit prosecutors
from seeking indictments within
three days of arrests. The bill also
would allow an accused to request
an examining trial within that time
and before any indictment is voted
against him.
An experimental road section
made of “liter crete” is holding up
well after six months of heavy Hous
ton traffic, TAMU researchers re
port.
“Litter crete”, as one of the re
searchers called it, uses burned
garbage mixed with lime instead of
the rock and gravel aggregate usu
ally used in road construction. Such
aggregates make up 95 percent of
materials used.
Last week, a TAMU crew took a
core sample from the strip.
“After six months of heavy traffic
there are no signs of distress or de
terioration of the pavement,” de
clared Dr. W. B. Ledbetter, project
head. He warned, however, that it
is too early to draw definitive con
clusions as to its strengh and stabil
ity. The experiment is to last three
years.
The use of waste materials to
build roads is only one of several
research programs being examined
by a national group of engineers and
technologists headed by Ledbetter,
a civil engineer. Other programs
being studied are the use of asphalt
emulsion instead of liquid asphalt or
cement and the possibility of de
veloping more efficient crusher
plant operations.
The purpose of the group is to
“examine the design, construction
and reconstruction of roadways with
a view to optimizing the use of mat
erials and energy, says Icdbetter,
Williams
to speak
President Jack K. Williams will
address the Academic Council
meeting tomorrow at 2 p.in.
The meeting will include ap
proval of minutes of the last meeting
in addition to Williams’ report.
Room 601 of Rudder Tower will
be the meeting place of the group.