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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1975)
Che Battalion Vol. 68 No. 68 College Station, Texas Wednesday, February 5, 1975 CORRECTION The Battalion incorrectly reported on January 31 that Beverly Elaine Bell, a freshman wildlife science major at A&M, was indicted by the Brazos County Grand Jury for delivery of phencyclidine. A different Beverly Bell was indicted by the Grand Jury. jLjf ■v. . Ford predicting better economy . £ V - gr b' -A k. Wide world of the MSC From the sun-shaped mirrors in the Student Lounge, there’s a fish-eye view of the world below. You’ll never see this from the floor, but photographer Jack Holm caught this shot with a handy telephoto. Recession not predicted by most Greenspan says economic decline a surprise 1 WASHINGTON (AP) — Chair- ifan Alan Greenspan of the [■resident’s Council of Economic jRdvisers acknowledged on Tuesday tbit the nation’s steep economic Hide caught economic advisers by surprise. “With all of our sophisticated Ifechniques, and they are very ^sophisticated, the extent ofour cur- Bent decline was not projected as . jecently as a few months ago, iCreenspan said at a news briefing ilm the President’s annual economic feport to Congress. In that report, the Council ol Economic Advisers argued that the feconomic decline was not foreseen by “a fairly broad consensus among IjEconomists,” at the President’s [Summit Conference on Inflation last September. These economists, the advisers l|aid, predicted little change in economic output hT tlvtT ensuing' quarters but some increase in un employment. Inflation, Ford con cluded after the summit, remained the nation’s number one problem. Not everybody at the Summit Conference supported that view. President George Meany of the AFL-CIO predicted that the economic policies being followed would lead to economic collapse. Meany told Ford at one point that “a depresion is not a solution to our problem and, in fact, is precisely the direction in which the economy is headed because the policies of your advisers, Mr. President, are de signed to combat excessive demand inflation. While inflation is a worry for workers, Meany said, they are equally scared by recession. “Re cession and rising unemployment spell economic disaster for the workers. Events since the summit have confirmed Meany’s predictions. The nation’s economy declined 2.2 per cent in 1974 as measured by the Gross National Product, and another 3.3 per cent decline is fore cast this year. Unemployment is expected to rise near 8 per cent — or 7.2 million workers — early this year, and re main there until early 1976, after which it will decline at a painfully slow rate, the council of Economic advisers said. “The economy is in a serious re cession,” Ford said in his economic report. The advisers said their predic tions went awry in part because au tomobile sales slumped badly in the fourth quarter of 1974 aud the auto industry was “in a state of collapse, ” the advisers say in their report. “Why this happened is still not entirely clear,” they added, al though they mention a $400 average increase in auto prices for 1975 autos as one probable cause. ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) — Presi dent Ford, on a two-day tour to promote his economic-energy prog ram, predicted Tuesday that the nation’s flagging economy is going to do better than some of the experts are predicting. He said that by the second or third quarter of 1975 there will be a switch “on the plus side” and he believes an “improving economic picture” would justify his seeking re-election in 1976. Ford held a 35-minute news con ference — his second this year — before returning home to Washing ton from his public appearance swing into the South — the first of a series of trips to bring his program to the grassroots. Ford himself was emphasizing the economy, and the questions from traveling White House and local reporters were overwhelm ingly on that subject. Ford said his $349 billion record peacetime budget, submitted to Congress Monday witha $52 billion deficit, was not “an austerity budget. It’s a very expensive budget. But he said it was carefully drawn to avoid “the rekindling of double digit inflation.” Ford said he would “vigorously oppose any attempt” by Congress “to slash without rhyme or reason” his $92.8 billion defense budget be cause it could jeopardize national security. Ford said his predictions about improved conditions later this year probably would mean a 5 per cent increase in the gross national pro duct, the total output of the nation’s goods and production. “It will undoubtedly mean an in crease of about two million in those employed,” he said. And, said the President, those economic areas “will get better the further we go into ’76.” Ford also said he sees some evi dence that public confidence is im proving and “we will get a faster ouncilmen hear city plan details By ROD SPEER City Editor “Call it a guide.” “No, better yet, call it a plan. Well, the City Council decided to Call it a plan, but only after conduct ing its longest debate of the even- ing. “The plan” is the city’s Com prehensive Development Plan and the purpose of Tuesday’s called meeting was to hear a report of its status and findings from Dr. Charles Pinnell, president of Pinnell- Anderson-Wilshire and Associates, an urban consulting firm. The name debate stemmed from fears of councilmen that the public would interpret the word “plan” to imply the council was obligated to carry out its specifications. Adopt a plan” and you’re committed, commented Mayor O.M. Holt. To avoid that commitment. Councilman Homer Adams pushed for the council to call it a “guide.” Pinnell said that with the constant fluctuation of the social and economic status of the world, “there is no way the city could exactly fol low the firm’s recommendations, parts of which anticipate the city’s needs as far in the future as 1990. In a partial compromise, the council voted to call the document “Comprehensive Plan: A Guide for Future Development.” Pinnell’s presentation outlined conclusions reached in the third in terim report of Phase III of the plan. Describing future park and recrea tional needs, he said by 1990 the city should have 17 neighborhood parks (about 10 acres apiece) and a district parks (50 acres apiece) and a community park, about 100 acres and proposed to be adjacent to the East By-pass south of Highway 30. The report states the city should currently have 12 of the 10-acre parks, although the city has only five. Pinnell said the recommenda tions are based on standards set by the National Recreation and Parks Association and an anticipated population of 52,000 in 1990. (Ac cording to the 1970 census, the population was 17,600; city officials estimate the current population at 30,000.) Needed capital improvements in the next five years suggested in the report included finding a new sanit ary landfill site, doubling the size of City Hall, adding to police and fire department facilities and contract ing with the university to tie into the water tower for fire protection. Following another name-change debate, the council decided to re name the Charter Revision Com mittee as the Charter Revision Commission and appointed its members. The commission members in clude Councilman Jim Dozier, former College Station Mayor Dick Hervey, City Attorney Neeley Lewis and Jerry Cooper, the editor of the former students’ publication, the Texas Aggie. Others on the commission are Earl Bennett, M.L. Cushion, Mae Holleman, Gene Benton and Bill Scott. recovery than what some of the ex perts are forecasting.” One way to help restore confi dence, Ford said, is “good, hard marketing practice” like that being shown now by the auto and ap pliance industries. Auto dealers, for example, have been offering cash rebates to improve car sales. Ford vigorously defended his economic-energy program which calls for a $16 billion tax reduction or rebate, and a $17 billion curtailment of certain federal expenditures. He said Congress must come up with a package of its own if it does not agree with his and cannot “pick and choose with press release ans wers. They have to have something solid. This is the theme that Ford has been promoting since he presented his program to Congress last month and throughout his two days here in which he made five public appear ances. On foreign policy. Ford said he was confident that Congress would use good judgment and provide the $522 milllion he has requested for additional aid to South Vietnam and Cambodia. He said that with this money he has recommended for the next fiscal year “the South Vietnamese can and will be able to defend themselves against the aggressors from the North.” Ford said there are only relatively minor differences in the current Geneva negotiations on nuclear weapons agreements with the Soviet Union and he sees no reason why they cannot be reconciled. The President said he is looking forward to a visit from Soviet leader Leonid Breznev in Washington in Asked how he views the recent interest shown by Arab oil businessmen in investing in Don’t bogart that paper America — “even here in Georgia — Ford said the Department of State and the National Security Council are looking into this ques tion. He said he was withholding any answer until the matter is reviewed. On another topic. Ford con firmed that he received information when he was a congressman from Asst. Atty. Gen. Will Wilson, then in charge of the Justice Department Criminal Division, and called for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Ford gave his response in answer to a question on whether he had access to or whether he was slipped secret FBI data at the time. The President said, “I do not know what the source was of the information that was given to me. Later, Deputy Press Secretary John W. Hushen said that whole matter was aired during Ford s vice presidential confirmation hearings and there was “nothing new to it. Ford said that Congress, acting “the quicker the better, would be the best way to turn the economy from a recession. He said he be lieves that any additional stimulant to the economy now could lead to the kind of inflation “we fought so hard to overcome for the last 12 months.” He warned that any budget de ficit beyond his $52 billion would dry up financial markets, probably force interest rates higher and would start the country down the road toward higher inflation. Ford said his proposals include “good programs to help the unemp loyed, to train those people who are unemployed, to help people on So cial Security and other retirement programs,” and he concluded, I do not believe we need the extra $15 billion recommended by the various mayors. Student senators to debate rules, yell leader regs A request for a referendum on female yell leaders will be voted on Thursday night in a special Senate meeting. The meeting will be held in room 204 of the Harrington Center Annex. The resolution, sponsored by John Tyler, is probably the most controversial issue faced by the Se nate, said Steve Eberhard, student body president. However, the most important in over-all effect, said Eberhard, is the vote on the first part of a Blue Book revision, sponsored by Jeff Dunn. “It will have considerable impact and influence on student’s lives in the near future,” said Eberhard. The bill will answer pass-fail and Q-drop questions, he said. A second controversial resolution before the Senate Thursday is that of head yell leader, sponsored by John Tyler. It calls for the position of head yell leader being filled by the candidate receiving the most votes. The Gathright Awards resolu tion, sponsoredby Jeff Dunn, is also to be voted on. The Awards are presented each year to the outstanding scholastic students in each college. Four from each undergraduate college and five from graduate school are selected. Two resolutions will receive first reading before the Senate: the sec ond part of the Blue Book resolu tion, this half sponsored by John Tyler, and a student service fee re serve request, sponsored by Curt Marsh. Photo by Douglas Wlnshlp The mouth of this carved wood face in the holder for a passerby’s paper. Litter can stairwell of the MSC made a perfect also be deposited in the trash cans. Today. Inside Movie review p. 5 J-board p. 6 Over the wall p. 7 Weather Partly cloudy Wednes day becoming cloudy and cooler tonight and Thursday. Northwes terly winds 8-14 mph. High today 58°; low tonite 39°; high Thursday 44°.