the bat
WEDNESDAY, /
George B. Parr
Political machine
SAN DIEGO (AP) — George B.
Parr, the patriarch of Mexican-
Americans in his county of Duval
and some surrounding areas for
more than 60 years, died with the
foundation of his political power
crumbling beneath him.
Parr, 74, had weathered assaults
by federal and state authorities and
had seen a 1934 conviction for in
come tax evasion wiped out by a
presidential pardon by Harry Tru
man. The Supreme Court over
turned a 1956 mail fraud conviction.
But a recent decision by the 5th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to
uphold his 1974 conviction on
charges of income tax evasion
charges — issued coincidentally
with the ouster of nephew Archei
Parr as Duval County judge —
meant to some that the iron grip the
Parrs held on South Texas politics
was finally, relentlessly, being pried
loose.
Parr grew up in the wild mesquite
and cactus country of South Texas.
Chunky and red-faced, he looked
more like a storekeeper than an
ironhanded political boss, heir to
the title “Duke of Duval,” passed to
him by his father, former State Sen.
Archie Parr.
“I’m not a boss,” Parr would
laugh. “The people come to me for
advice because I am their friend. No
one is boss in Duval County.”
But Parr was the boss of Duval
County.
The political legend of the Parrs
began in 1912 after a courthouse
massacre of three Mexican-
Americans by a group of Anglos who
wanted to seize control of Duval
County. Archie Parr, then state
senator, took the side of the
Mexican-Americans.
He became their adviser, their
patron. And the father passed this
patronage on to his son. Even now,
the majority of the 13,000 persons
who live in Duval County are
Mexican-Americans.
“My father was their first friend. I
am their second. They ask me for
advice on how to vote. I give it
freely,” George Parr said. “But I
don’t order them to vote, or tell
them how to vote.”
Parr, an oil and cattle-rich mil
lionaire, owned or was a partner in
almost every business in this town of
4,500. Before the state banking
commissioner made him sell out,
Parr had owned the bank and
another one in the Jim Wells coun
ty seat of Alice, 10 miles away.
That was before he went through
the federal bankruptcy wringer.
And even then, Parr continued to
live in a palatial Spanish style home
with his wife and their eight-year-
old daughter. A few miles from town
was Parr’s 55,000-acre Dobie ranch,
which figured in some of the many
suits brought against him.
At one time, there were five court
actions pending against him.
— A federal charge that he had
evaded $85,000 in income taxes.
— A charge he had conspired to
commit theft of Duval County
funds.
— A charge he used $500,000 in
county funds to buy his ranch.
— A charge he had borrowed the
money from the county to buy the
ranch and then did not pay it back.
— A suit that he used $172,500 in
Duval County funds to pay off in
come taxes.
But it was an election in 1948 that
catapulted the Parrs into national
limelight. That was when delayed
votes from Box 13 in Jim Wells
County deep in “Parr Country”
swung a U.S. senatorial election to
Lyndon B. Johnson over Coke
Stevenson by 87 votes.
Parr hit the headlines again in
1950, when Texas Rangers were
sent to keep order in the Democra
tic primary elections in 1950, when
opposition from the Freedom Party
was the first challenge Parr’s Old
Party had seen in 39 years.
He bounced back in the spotlight
— to stay — in 1952 when the son of
an arch political foe was shot down
in what was later termed “murder
by mistake.”
Politics in Duval in the 1950s was
at its most flamboyant. Excitement
often turned to violence: fistfights at
the polls, pistol packing ballot box
“observers,” curses shouted bet
ween rival groups.
The Rangers returned to Duval in
1952, when the son of Parr’s politi
cal foe, Jacob S. Floyd Sr., was cut
down by bushwhacker’s bullets in
the driveway of the Floyd home in
Alice.
In two sensational trials, two men
were tried and the charge against
each was the same: that Jacob Floyd
Sr. was to be the intended victim of
hired killers. But the state said his
son was killed by mistake.
Mario Sapet, a deputy sheriff
when he Was arrested, was sen
tenced to 99 years in prison. A jury
found he had supplied arms to Al
fredo Cervantes, a Mexican national
named as the triggerman in the
Floyd shooting. Cervantes, who
fled to Mexico, was never ap
prehended.
Nago Alaniz, a Duval attorney,
also was charged in the Floyd case.
The state claimed he was a decoy to
Parr death ruled suicide
BENAVIDES (AP) — Hours be
fore the bright South Texas sun
burned thick fog from the rolling
hills of Duval County, it was clear
something had happened to the
“Duke of Duval.”
Three hours before the body of
George B. Parr was found in the
ranch country he loved, people
were talking about him as if he was
dead.
“There’s a new Duke of Duval’
this morning. Archer Parr. I just
knew it when I woke up,” said a
longtime resident who was waiting
in the sheriffs office at San Diego.
Archer Parr, who days ago was re
lieved as county judge, is George
Parr’s nephew.
George Parr, 74, had failed to ap
pear in federal court in Corpus
Christi on Monday. When Parr
failed to appear, Nago Alaniz, Parr’s
lawyer, neighbor and close as
sociate, said, “I believe he is dead. ”
“That man would never run. He’s
too proud, ” said Leo Casas, a friend
of Parr.
Because Parr had reportedly
been seen in the Benavides area
Monday, officers gathered early
Tuesday near the gate of a ranch
operated by Parr and a sister-in-law
of Parr, Hilda Parr.
Those near the ranch entrance in
cluded Duval County Sheriff Raul
Serna, several deputies, Texas
Ranger Gene Powell, four FBI ag
ents and two newsmen.
Shortly after 11 a.m., a Texas De
partment of Public Safety helicopter
arrived. It swooped down, its rotors
kicking up the South Texas sand
next to Texas 339 about four miles
south of Benavides.
At 11:15 a.m., the helicopter as
cended and disappeared over the
hills leading to the 15,000-acre
ranch.
Five minutes later, the search
was over.
The Texas Ranger’s radio on the
ground crackled:
“We have located George Parr’s
automobile,” a voice said. The voice
gave some directions and a convoy
of law officers, trailed by the two
newsmen, raced nine miles across a
dusty ranch road through landscape
dotted with mesquite trees and cac
tus.
As the convoy neared the desig
nated spot, a lonely windmill and
water tank appeared in the back
ground.
Again the radio crackled. The
words needed no explanation.
“We ll need a justice of the peace
and an ambulance,” the voice said,
indicating that the fears of Parr’s fol
lowers were realized — the “Duke”
was dead.
Parked between the water tower
and a clump of trees was Parr’s
stately dark blue Chrysler. A front
window was open and the motor was
running.
A metal gate near the windmill
creaked. The windmill, spurred by
a gust of wind, made a whirring
noise. Apart from that, there was
silence, as the officers bent over to
look into the automobile.
Inside, the man who politically
controlled a large portion of South
Texas for decades was dead.
A bullet from a .45-caliber pistol
had pierced his skull, an officer said.
Later, the officers gently pulled
Parr’s short, solid body from the car
after first wrapping it in a blue
bedspread.
The officers retrieved from the
car a .45-caliber automatic pistol
and a military-type semi-automatic
rifle.
A funeral home hearse dis
patched from San Diego had trek
ked the dusty countryside and was
ready to take Parr’s body.
The hearse drove away, leaving
the silent officers.
Peace Justice Luis Elizondo of
Benavides ruled that Parr died of a
self-inflicted gunshot wound in the
right temple. He said it came ap
parently from a .45 caliber pistol.
Judge Parr, bitter and redeyed as
he finished making arrangements
for his uncle’s funeral, told news
men:
T have a statement: I hope the
goddamned sons of
bitches are satisfied. ”
Asked to whom he referred, he
said calmly: “Just put it ‘they’.”
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Page 4 THE BAIT All
WEDNESDAY, APRU
collapses after 63 years
get Floyd out of the house for the
gunman. He was found innocent by
a jury which decided he actually
tried to warn the elder Floyd that
hired killers were out to get him.
Parr’s political strength came into
play when C. Woodrow Laughlin,
79th District judge, was removed
WANT AD RATES
One day 10c per word
by the Texas Supreme Court after a
group of attorneys claimed he was
partial to Parr in his decisions.
Laughlin was later reelected to the
unexpired portion of his term, and
many of the lawyers who sought his
removal asked that disbarment pro
ceedings against Laughlin be stop
ped.
And now, oldtime allies are jock
eying to seize control of Duval from
the Parrs.
The political leader of the Carrillo
family, former Rep. Oscar Carrillo,
who used to boast of his political
allegiance to Parr, has deck
openly he will take over the rein:
Duval politics.
It was a member of the C:
family. State District Court]
O. P. Carrillo, who orden
George’s nephew, Archer Pan,
step down from his post.
Minimum charge-
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isplay
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BATTALION CLASSIFIEl
: A ' -
^::S^^^3SSS®S3SSSSS8S888S?«SSSSS:::y
; FOR RENT FOR SALE WORK WANTED
Will do typiim. Call 823-4579 after 5 p m nit
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE DEAN OF ADMISSIONS AND
RECORDS
To be eligible to purchase the Texas A&M ring, an
undergraduate student must have at least one year in
residence and credit for at least ninety-two (92) semester
hours. A year in residence may consist of the fall and
spring semesters or one of the above and a full summer
session (both the first and second terms). The hours
passed at the preliminary grade report period on March
12, 1975 may be used in satisfying this ninety-two hour
requirement. Students qualifying under this regulation
should leave their names with the ring clerk, room
seven, Richard Coke Building. This should be done
prior to March 12th in order for all records to be checked
to determine ring eligibility. Students already having
ninety-two (92) completed hours on record may order at
any time since regular orders are sent in at the end of
each month. Graduate students are eligible to order with
proof (receipt) that they have filed for graduation.
Orders for mid semester will be taken by the ring clerk
starting March 24, 1975 and will continue until Mav 1,
1975 at 4 p. in. All rings must be paid for in full when the
order is placed. Students will save time if they will bring
grade reports along when ready to order. Students who
fail to leave their names in advance will be asked to
return later to allow time for records to be checked. The
rings are due to arrive at the registrar s on June 17, 1975.
All rings ordered, regardless of whether on March 24,
1975 or May 1, 1975, will arrive at the same time.
The ring clerk is on duty from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. of each week, Monday through Friday.
However, in order for records to be checked, orders
must he placed prior to 4 p.m. during this ordering
period.
We hope this information will he helpful and extend our
congratulations.
EDWIN H. COOPER, DEAN
ADMISSIONS AND RECORDS
CAROLYN WATSON,
RING CLERK
TRAVIS HOUSE APTS.
* Spacious 1 & 2 bedroom
* Furnished or unfurnished
* All utilittes paid
* Swimming pools
* 2 laundries
* Play yard
* Shuttle bus service
* From $155
505 Hwy. 30
846-61 il
40tfn
RUMMAGE SALE
St. Thomas Chapel
906 Jersey, C. S.
April 3, 4, and 5
Thursday 9-5; Friday 9-5;
Saturday 9-12
Saturday
Typing Experienced, fast, accurate, Allb
|^22-0544
Full time typing. Symbols. Call 823-7783. f
Bring your bikes to White's Auto Store, College Station,
your oldest and most dependable store, for parts, repair
or trade and prices you like.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
BROADMOOR
APARTMENTS
2 Bedroom, 1 bath, central air & heat, panelled,
carpeted & & draped, close to school, University
Shopping Center, & Medical Center, $155. unfur
nished. $175 furnished. All bills paid including
cable, or $130 unfurnished, $150 furnished including
water and cable.
1503 Broadmoor
846-1297 or 846-2737
RN needed full time on
11 to 7 shift. Shift .dif
ferential plus mileage. Call
or come to Grimes Memo
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St. Navasota, Texas 77868
or 825-6585. Ask for Mrs.
Winkelmann Director of
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ministrator.
308tfn
For employment Information at To
A&M University dial 845-4444 24hoinj
day. Equal Employment OpporMj
through Affirmative Action.
Texas A&M University
AVON
Has Openings In this area.
Customers waiting to be served.
Call 846-8224
“Sail of Sails” at 608 South Bryan! 1,000 and 1 Iron
Collectibles, Antiques, Glassware, Lamps, Stoves,
Oak Antique Furniture, Iron Beds, Glass Top Fruit
Jars, Old Bottles, Horse Drawn Plows, Plow
Sweeps, Garden Plows, Iron Wheels, Wagon and
Buggy Parts, Old Tools, Books, Rocks, Geodes,
Crystals, Fossils. I BUY, SELL AND TRADE. We
have “GOOD BUYS,” “BARGAINS” “Some items
You Buy at YOUR PRICE!” 96t4
2 bedroom unfurnished apartment at Northgate. $95 per
month, no bills paid. STUDENTS ONLY. Call
846-0384. 95t4
Rentals near campus. Apartments and houses.
846-8209. 85tfn
Presently interviewing applicants for foil time in-|
patient counselor positions
Experience especially valuable to psychology stu
dents. Minimum 2 yr. employment preferred. Con
tact Director of In-Patient Services, Central Brazos
Valley Mental Health Center. Phone 822-7326
84H6
Attention: Alpha Delta Pi’s
Reorganization of alumni. If
you are new to the area and
have not been contacted lately
please call Patsy Akin,
822-0995.
Finfeather Acres, mobile homes for rent, 822-2627.81tfn
Apartment for rent for 2 $45 apiece, 846-5132. lOtfo
ATTENTION MARRIED COUPLES. One and2 bed
room furnished apartments. Ready for occupancy. 1V4
miles south of campus. Lake for fishing. Washateria on
grounds. Country atmosphere. Call D. R. Cain Co.,
823-0934 or after 5, 846-3059 or 822-6135. 166tfii
* : 1 '
FOR SALE OR RENT
Mansard House. Part time bartender needed.
Apply in person. 693-2200. 96tfn
-
NEEDED IMMEDIATELY: Person to iWM
•hdrin house. Study, I* baths,
area, kitchen with dishwasher, comploWI
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PENT HOUSE I. Male help wanted. Apply in person
846-9384. 92tf n
One or two people to work 10 a.m. to 3 p.m Mon -Fri.
Also one or two to work weekends and two or three
nights a week. Sales or cashier experience helpful. Apply
in person only, Whataburger, Bryan or College
Station. 6 7,f n
Service For All
Chrysler Corp. Cars
Body Work — Painting
Free Estimates
HALSELL MOTOR COMPANY, INC.
Dodge Sales and Service Since 1922
1411 Texas Ave. — 823-8111 67tfn
BELAIR
Mobile Home Park
5 minutes from campus
Swimming pool, TV cable, all city
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Get the Best for Less 394tfn
MANSARD HOUSE. Part time cocktail waitress
needed. Apply in person. 693-2200. 92tfn
The Houston Chronicle needs one route carrier im
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Weekend help wanted. Receptionist. Alert, pleasant
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One opal, one turquoise rings Friday , aroll "^J] , ™
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Gold watch, 2 diamonds. Saturday.
Mall. 822-7207.
FOR RENT
LUXURY APARTMENTS FOR LEASE. Furnished 2
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built-in RCA whirlpool all gas kitchen including dis
hwasher, disposal and 14 ft. no frost refrigerator. Indi
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lot within walking distance to university. $175 per
month plus utilities, no pets, 846-8051 after 5 or all day
weekends. 9714
FOR SALE
SURPLUS ELECTRONICS prime components, new
and used equipment, tools, and kits. Call Richard Par
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Sacrifice. 693-3669. 97t7
Portable sewing machine, $40; 4 year old mare,
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LHAFA-APSO Puppies. House of Poodles. 3011 South
College. 822-6250. 88t3
For Battalion Classified Call
FOUND
Black tom eat with green eyes, clear plastic collar
845-2985 after 7 p in.
845-2226
Broome’s SUNSHINE LAUNOftV
3815 E. 29th ST. — BRYAN, TEXAS 77801
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303 College Main 846-8791
College Station
AUTO INSURANCE
FOR AGGIES:
Call: George Webb
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3400 S. College 823-8051
SOSOLIKS
TV & RADIO SERVICE INC.
Zenith Sales and Services
TV Rental
713 S. MAIN BRYAN 822-2133
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WANTED
Industrial Engineer. For information, write Dire*
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SOUTHGATE VILLAGE
APARTMENTS
Family size apartments with lots A
closet space. Individually control
refrigerated air. Cable TV connection*
Complete laundry facilities.
ALL UTILITIES PAID
One. two, three & four bedroom apart
merits from $104.00. Some availabli
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134 Luther
(off old hwy. 6 so., C. S.)
Rental Office
846-3702
Dfeighiborlg advice.
Come visit us at Briarwood. We love it here and we think
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1201 Highway 30
College Station
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*back yard — pet accepted.
1712 Trinity Place
846-3988 College Station, Texas
the
pux chene
"THE ULTIMATE IN APARTMENT CHATEUX”
• 1-2-3 BEDROOMS FURNISHED &
• UNFURNISHED
• A&M SHUTTLE SERVICE
• 24 HOUR SECURITY
• MEN & WOMEN EXERCISE ROOMS
•RECREATION CENTER
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FREE)
• SAUNA BATHS
MANSARD HOUSE (Club)
FREE TENNIS LESSONS
Office Open Between 9-6 - Sun 2-5
1401 FM 2818 (West Loop) College Station
Behind The New IC-Mart
PHONE 846-3741
FOfi THE YOUNG HI HEART
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150i Hwy. 30, College Station
1-2-3 Bedroom
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f
FREE TENNIS LESSONS
OFFICE OPENS 9-7
Sunday 2-6
By Appointment
After Hours
^ i «3?nHlh il
In
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