Page 2 THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1975
Gripe
service
opens
The Battalion has established an
office to field complaints and ques
tions from its readers.
Any problems requiring the at
tention of the editors can be
phoned in to the staff's ombuds
man, Assistant Editor Roxie Hearn,
at the Student Publication s office,
845-2611.
Office hours are from 6 to 11 p.m.
Monday through Thursday nights.
For written complaints, write
Ombudsman, Texas A&M Battal
ion, 216 Reed McDonald, College
Station, Texas, 77843.
Fur sales
still boom
Associated Press
CHICAGO — Sales of mink, sa
ble and other furs, traditionally
marks of wealth, are booming de
spite the recession, say a pelt dealer,
a leading furrier and the customers.
“If you got it, you flaunt it, one
woman explained as she attended
Irwin R. Ware’s showing of design
ers’ furs valued at more than $1 mil
lion.
“The recession has not touched
us at all, said Ware, who operates
the Bonwit Teller Fur Salon. “In
fact, I’ve been in this business 40
years and the past two years have
been our best.
Furs with price tags of $30,000
were modeled at the show, which
attracted 1,500 potential customers
Monday.
Furs in the show included green
mink tennis sweaters, seal jackets
“to wear to the grocery store and
a collection of Bicentennial furs
dyed red, white and blue.
“I think if a woman really wants a
fur, she can figure out how to afford
one, said Linda Lind, who attend
ed the showing.
Gerald Newman, a corporate
lawyer, said, “The economy’s great.
If it weren’t, I wouldn’t be here to
buy a fur for my wife.
And Bernie Siegel, who owns a
printing business, noted, “People
in the upper income bracket are
spending as much as ever. And one
of the things they buy is furs. ”
Jeffrey Garber, a dealer in pelts
as well as the finished goods, said
the price of longhaired fur pelts has
doubled and, in some cases tripled,
in the last three or four years.
“Lynx coats are almost at the
point of pricing themselves out of
the market,” he said. “A lynx coat
selling for $1,500 three or four years
ago is now $3,500 to $4,000.
Short-hair furs, such as mink,
have gone up only slightly, how
ever, and most of the increase has
been in assembling the coats, Gar
ber said. A full mink coat going
for $2,500 to $4,000 now would
have been only a couple hundred
dollars cheaper a few years ago, he
said.
Aggietoons
—Brad Foster
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r THP\T Bme dogs/dt
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Come To Diamond Country
Sankey Park Diamond Salon
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^ Engagement Rings
^ Wedding Rings
Newsmen watchful
rtS DE
Information law revised
Associated Press
AUSTIN — Texas newsmen, and
all others interested in public access
to public records, will be watching
closely the next few months as fed
eral authorities draw up new secur
ity regulations on criminal informa
tion records.
Associated Press News Analysis
Some say the federal regulations
will have no effect on the Texas
Open Records Act. Others predict
they may supercede the state law
guaranteeing public access to gov
ernmental records.
Also very much in the picture is
a pending decision by the Houston
Civil Appeals Court concerning city
police records.
“What effect the federal regula
tions have will depend to a great
extent on what the Houston court
says our Open Records Act means, ”
SLOUCH
By JIM EARLE
But like they say, it does protect our right to privacy!”
I FEEL SORRY FOR
SOMEONE WHO HAS TO
(JOIN AT EVERYTHING/
Cbe Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor
or of the ivriter of the article and are not necessarily those of
the university administration or the Board of Directors. The
Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated
by students as a university and community newspaper.
Editorial policy is determined by the editor.
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are
subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The
editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does
not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be
signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone
number for verification.
Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion, Room
217, Services Building, College Station, Texas 77843.
Members of the Student Publications Board are: Bob G. Rogers, Chairman: Dr.
Gary Halter; Dr. John Hanna; Roger P. Miller; Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Jeff Dunn,
Tom Dawsey, and Jerri Ward.
Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper.
Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Services, Inc.,
New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Battalion, a student newspaper at Texas A&M, is published in College
Station, Texas, daily except Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and holiday periods,
September through May, and once a week during summer school.
Mail subscriptions are $5.00 per semester; $9.50 per school year; $10.50 per full
year. All subscriptions subject to 5% sales tax. Advertising rate furnished on
request. Address: The Battalion, Room 217, Services Building, College Station,
Texas 77843.
The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all
news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news
of spontaneous origin published herein. Right of reproduction of all other matter
herein are also reserved. Copyright © 1975, The Battalion
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas.
MEMBER
The Associated Press, Texas Press Association
Editor
Assistant Editor
Managing Editor
City Editor
Campus Editor
Special Section Editor
Sports Editor
Photography Director
James Breedlo\ e
Roxie Hearn
Steve Goble
Steve Gray
.Karla Mouritsen
Sandy Russo
. . . .Tony Gallucci
Jack Holm
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
TOWN HALL’S ALL NEW (™c /te P lnto the m/c cSrc!e
UNIVERSITY VARIETY SERIES
PRESENTS
THE
PRESERVATION HALL
JAZZ BAND
THE TRADITIONAL JAZZ BAND DIRECT FROM NEW ORLEANS
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 1975 RUDDER AUDITORIUM
GENERAL PUBLIC — $5.50
A&M STUDENT/DATE. S3.00
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE MSC BOX OFFICE. FIRST FLOOR RUDDER TOWER. 9-4. M0NDAY-
FRIDAY. 845-2916. SORRY, NO CAMERAS OR RECORDING EQUIPMENT WILL BE ALLOWED.
said Bill Reid, an assistant Texas
attorney general.
Last May, the 1 'Federal Law En-
forcemeftt Assistance Administra
tion LEAA issued new security reg
ulations, under the federal Omni
bus Crime Control Act, for criminal
records which the LEAA said would
“afford greater protection of the
privacy of private individuals who
may be included in the records of
the FBI, criminal justice agencies
funded directly or indirectly from
the Law Enforcement Assistance
Administration, and interstate,
state or local criminal justice agen
cies exchanging records with the
FBI or these federally funded agen
cies.”
Whatley said the state’s version of
the regulations will be submitted
to Washington by Dec. 15.
The final version of the regula
tions will not be effective until De
cember 1977, Willis Whatley, gen
eral counsel of the Governor’s
Criminal Justice Division said.
“1 don’t think the Texas Open
Records Act will be involved, he
said. “These regulations are not to
prohibit any authorized person from
getting the information ... It
would prevent such people as em
ployment agencies from getting
criminal histories. ’
However, Bill Roberts, Tarrant
County director of information sys
tems, says he got a different idea
after attending a workshop in Dallas
held by LEAA personnel.
Roberts said the LEAA personnel
said the new rules will supersede
any state laws such as the Texas
Open Records Act. “I was appalled
. . . The new standard is stricter
and requires not only a specific re
quest from the press, but limits
the information given to confirming
or denying specific information in
the inquiry,”
Roberts said in Tarrant County’s
case this would mean purging the
county’s computer system of crimin
al justice files, purchasing another
computer to handle those opera
tions and organizing new computer
department under the control of the
district attorney, sheriff or some
other law enforcement agency.
Whatley said Texas’ proposal to
carry out the new regulations will
not be submitted until after LEAA
has completed holding five orienta
tion meetings across the nation to
get local comment.
“They suggested we wait until we
see what everybody thinks about
the plan before we write ours, be
said.
Whatley said the proposed fed
eral rules do not apply to any crim
inal history information contained
in announcements about fugitives
or wanted persons, about original
records such as police blotters,
court records or judicial records,
published court opinion, or rec
ords of traffic offenses.
“Nothing in these regulations pre
vents a criminal justice agency
from disclosing to the public fac
tual information concerning the
status ol an investigation, the ap
prehension, arrest, release or pro
secution of an individual, the aju-
dication of charges, or the correc
tional status of an individual, which
is reasonably contemporaneous
with the event to which the informa
tion relates.
f a tree falls in the forest
and there’s no one there,
who are you going to drink
your Cuervo with?
JOSE CUERVO*TEQUILA 80 PROOF.
IMPORTED AND BOTTLED BY ©1975. HEUBLEIN. INC., HARTFORD.CONN
Battalion Classified Call 845-2611
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