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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1976)
Page 2 THE BATTALION THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1976 David S. Bvoder Laundry Committee tries Editor: I read Scott “Threadbare” Sarine’s letter in Tuesday’s Listen Up with much interest, and it was accurate with two exceptions. The first exception is that there is a mistake in the original replacement estimation that was given to the Laundry Committee and the one Sarine quoted in his letter. Sarine quoted a price of $80 in his letter, while the estimation given to the Laundry Committee was approxi mately $72. The other exception is that Sarine states that the Laundry Committee is implying that he is 25 per cent at fault for turning in his laundry to begin with. Sarine raised this objec tion at the committee meeting, and it was explained to him explicitly that we did not doubt his honesty but that since his ticket showed that not all the clothes reached the laundry, and neither side could prove where the clothes were, the responsibility must be shared between both par ties. The 75 per cent rebate figure was set because of the magnitude of his loss and because of his apparent honesty and sincerity. The depreciation factor men tioned by Sarine is what some ra tional insurance companies use to depreciate clothing. This policy is followed to give consistency and fairness in committee decisions. Sarina failed to mention that at least three items of clothing which he claimed were new were not depre ciated at all, which is a departure from normal procedures. Sarine should reconsider his clos ing remarks as they are obviously rash and irresponsible. By the flip pant style of his fritter, he apparently does not appreciate or understand the position and responsibilities of the Laundry Committee. I challenge him and others to join a university committee and find out what it is like. All decisions are made by the students with the staff members act ing as advisors. I am sorry Sarine was not happy with the decision made by the com mittee, but he did not make his dis pleasure known at the time. One more thing, if Sarine thinks this whole affair is funny, I want to let him know something—it’s not. Thomas B. Meadows III Member, Laundry Committee Changing things Editor: Another April 15 has come and gone, and once more some 40 mil lion Americans were hit with an in come tax penalty of up to 20 per cent because they happen to be single. To end this tax rip-off. Rep. Edward Koch (D-NY) has introduced HR 850 in the House Ways and Means Committee, to establish the tax table currently used by married persons filing joint returns as the tax table to be used by all taxpayers. This bill would also remove tax inequities from married couples who both work. More information about HR 850 may be obtained by sending a stamped, 10 envelope to CO$T- Committee of Single Taxpayers, 1628 21st St., Washington, D.C. 20009. All who would benefit from this bill are urged to write to their repre sentative in Congress and to mem bers of the House Ways and Means Committee, pressing for prompt, favorable action. Lee Spencer Cbe Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self supporting enterprise operated by student 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. Represented nationally by National Educational Advertising Serv ices, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 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 repro duction of all news dispatched credited to it or not otherwise credited in the paper and local news of spontaneous origin pub lished herein. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein are also reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, Texas. Editor Jerry Needham Managing Editor Richard Chamberlain City Editor Jamie Aitken Campus Editor Kevin Venner Sports Editor Paul Arnett Photo Director Jim Hendrickson News Editor Lloyd Lietz ALLEN Oldsmobile NOW AVAILABLE IN COLLEGE STATION Cadillac SALES - SERVICE PASSPORT PHOTOS IN "Where satisfaction is LIVING COLOR — INSTANTLY standard equipmenf ” UNIVERSITY STUDIO 2401 Texas Ave. 115 College Main • Northgate • 846-8019 823-8002 SssiiUsissliiiiiiisiiiisiiisiistiiiisiisIsisisisii Withdrawing federal campaign fum hurts challengers, helps incumbent WASHINGTON — Back in the bad old days of Watergate, when the reformers in this city were busy pre scribing solutions for the evils re vealed in that scandal, nothing was more obvious — or so it seemed — than the case for public financing of election campaigns. If secret, dirty, private money in large cash chunks was at the root of Watergate, as many believed, then the cure was to give presidential candidates an alternative source of supply — good, clean Treasury money, contributed by the tax payers. A few people raised some ques tions about that solution: Suppose, they said, the presidential candi dates are made dependent on a sys tem of public finance and then Con gress cuts off their funds? What greater power could one give to a set of incumbent politicians than to let them determine the schedule and scale of funds flowing to those seek ing the presidency? What safeguard will there be against abuse of that power? This reporter remembers a con ference on campaign finance where exactly those questions were put to the lobbyist for a famous reform group and that gentleman assured the questioner that he was conjuring up hypothetical evils which could never occur. Any interruption in public financ ing by members of Congress would stir such a public outcry, the re former said, that the incumbents would be signing their political death warrants. That assurance, friends, is cold comfort to the presidential candi dates who find themselves this week with empty treasuries, because Congress has gone home for the Eas ter holiday without renewing the legislation that gives the contenders the federal matching funds they counted on to sustain their efforts in the coming crucial weeks. The campaigns of Republican presidential challenger Ronald Re agan and of all three active Demo cratic contenders — Jimmy Carter, Henry Jackson and Morris Udall — are hurting. The beneficiaries of Congress’ lassitude are President Ford, who has plenty of oppor tunities for free publicity, and Sen. Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, who has no current campaign ex penses and whose chances of win ning the Democratic nomination depend on a stalement among the active contenders. The less Carter, Jackson, Udall and Reagan can cam paign in the next six weeks, the bet ter off Mr. Ford and Humphrey are. Now, it so happens that the candi date most congressional Republicans would like to see nominated is their old friend Jerry Ford. And the favor ite of most congressional Democrats is their old pal Hubert. Anyone who believes that it’s coincidence that Congress left the other candidates financially stranded is likely to be someone who is probably still wait ing for the Easter Bunny to deliver a brand-new canary-yellow converti ble. It will be argued that Congress alone is not responsible for the inter ruption in the flow of federal match ing funds to the presidential candi dates. The Supreme Court on January 30 ruled that the composi tion of the Federal Elections Com mission — the agency that certifies the matching payments — was un- Tom’s Pants . .. featuring Levis for guys and gals. 100% cotton ^ blue denim big bells. Flare- legs, boot cuts and shrink to fits. TOM’S PANTS 800 Villa Maria 823-8213 Across from Manor East Mall! “SAVE A BUNDLE” Remember the old, Cash and Carry, money saving trick? Buy a pizza at the Commons Snack Bar and eat it there or take it anywhere you wish. Prices are right, and the pizzas are great. Bicentennial Special Hamburger Pizza Sausage Pizza .. Pepperoni Pizza 1.29 1.29 $1.29 OPEN Monday thru Friday 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Saturday & Sunday 4:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. “QUALITY FIRST” constitutional. It was found uncon stitutional because Congress — bow ing, as usual, to the demands of Rep. Wayne Hays (D-Ohio) — had in sisted on appointing the majority of the commission members. President Ford, to his credit, promptly suggested that Congress deal with the problem by the simple device of transferring the appointive power to him, with the understand ing that he would name the same six commission members already sit ting. But Congress would have none of it. Its members wanted to write a variety of new provisions into the law and to circumscribe the power of the commission to supervise their own campaign finance practices. And until those changes were made, they were quite willing to hold the presi dential candidates hostage. Espe cially since they didn’t want those fellows to win anyhow. The Supreme Court stayed its order for 30 days, then extended the stay for another 21 days — and still Congress would not act. Since March 22, the commission has been without authority to continue paying matching funds to the presidential hopefuls. By another of those peculiar coin cidences that are so conspicuous in this whole affair, the House-Senate conference committee hand legislation completed worl day — just a few hours too Congress to act before begii vacation. One reason for the delay,! out, was the insistence by on relief from the provision them to $1,000 a speech and a year in honorariums. Only limits were lifted to $2,000 and $25,000 a year did thei and let the hill emerge. But the legislation can passed until Congress rehi week of April 28, and by Mr. Ford can sign the law,ret the commissioners and confirmed, at least anotli weeks will elapse. Meantb candidates will be stn through the glut ofMaypn without the federal funds ti they are entitled. This is exactly the kind oh power of which the reforrae: warned. And it is clear prod the experiment in publicfinas be continued after this year, tribution of funds by ana formula must be made aut and taken totally outoftheli those incumbent congm politicians who have prove: unwillingness to divorce the sonal concerns from their p«! sponsibilities. Dairt| Queen * Located on S. Texas Ave. between K-Mart and Gibsons SPECIALS WED. & THURS. APRIL 21 & 22 Malts and Shakes 64 c FRi. & SAT. APRIL 23 & 25 Beltbuster & French Fries $1.39 MON. & TUBS. APRIL 26 & 27 D.Q. Dude 79 c FAMILY NIGHT SPECIAL Every Wed. 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