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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1976)
Campus A PUBLIC LECTURE on financ- | ing the Alaskan pipeline will be pre sented at Texas A&M University tomorrow by Paul Phillips, senior I vice president of Standard Oil of [Ohio (SOHIO). The SOHIO offi cial’s program begins at 4 p. m. in the MSC 206. A reception follows the program. During his visit to campus, Phillips also will lecture classes on the impact of proposed break-ups of oil finns and capital budgeting and processes at SOHIO. ROBERT B. EKELUND JR., a Texas A&M University professor, has been appointed one of 18 as sociate editors to the Review of So cial Economy, a publication of the Association for Social Economics. Ekelund, director of graduate studies in the Economics depart ment, will be a part of the 35th year of the journal’s publication. THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY will offer around-the-clock quiet for studying during exam week so that students may prepare for finals. Sterling C. Evans Library will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday to mid night Dec. 14, Director of Libraries Dr. Irene Hoadley said. The library will be open Wednesday through Friday as regularly scheduled. There will be no checkout nor desk service from midnight to 8 a.m. next Monday or Tuesday. Texas A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, who once assisted Houston police of ficers in a wiretapping investigation, has been indicted on a charge of plot ting to rob the Houston police prop erty room. J. L. Patterson, 45, now serving a five-year federal prison term after being convicted of pos sessing illegal electronic equipment, was named in the indictment re turned yesterday by a Harris County grand jury. The indictment accused him of criminal solicitation of aggra vated robbery. The indictment al leges Patterson solicited two private investigators in a plan for robbery of cash and other valuables in the police property room. The indict ment alleged the plan called for the use of firearms and explosives. “CLEAR CUTTING” was de scribed in federal court in Tyler yes terday by one of six witnesses who testified against it as the U. S. Forest Service’s meat ax approach to for estry land management. The hear ing, to determine whether the U.S. Forest Service will be permanently enjoined from “clear cutting” its Na tional Forest acreage in Texas, is ex pected by court observers to last at least a week. It will resume todav. National THE 2.5 MILLION cars sold without spare tires earlier this year should be getting the fifth piece of rubber soon, auto industry spokes men said yesterday in Akron, Ohio. The shortage was caused by a four- month nationwide strike by about 60,000 United Rubber Workers. Major tire manufacturers in Akron said the spare tire shipments should be completed by about Jan. 1. Spokesmen said the tires were being shipped directly to dealers who will notify car buyers. THE FEDERAL GOVERN MENT’S decision not to require air bags in new cars has drawn praise from the nation’s biggest auto com panies and criticism from their long time critic Ralph Nader. An auto in surance official said the decision was unlikely to have much impact on in- . surance rates. Transportation Sec retary William T. Coleman Jr. an nounced yesterday that passive re straint devices — of which air bags are the best known — would not be mandatory until the 1981 model year at the earliest. World PALESTINIAN LEADERS or dered their guerrillas on a maximum war alert along the Lebanese-Israeli border today, charging that Israeli forces were preparing to invade southern Lebanon by land and sea. A spokesman for the Palestinian high command in Beirut said joint forces of guerrillas and leftist Lebanese Moslems were deployed at strategic positions along a 30-mile stretch of the Lebanese coast north of the Israeli frontier. weather Fair and cold with northerly winds 12-20 m.p.h. diminishing this after- 'noon. The high today in the mid- 40s. Low tonight in the upper 20s. High tomorrow in the low 60s. No precipitation in sight. Vw The Battalion Page Vol. 70 No. 54 12 Pages Tuesday, December 7, 1976 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Carter sends message Kissinger leaves for Europe Christmas tree lights Northgate This 20-foot Christmas tree was erected by the Northgate Merchants Association. The tree’s lights were turned on at a brief ceremony yester day at 7 p.m. The Association erected the tree in front of the Post Office on University Drive so that A&M students could enjoy it before they leave for Christmas vacation. By BARRY SCHWEID Associated Press WASHINGTON — Henry Kissinger is off today on his last diplomatic “hurrah” as secretary of state, carrying a message of support for the NATO alliance to Brussels for President-elect Carter. The message, given to Kissinger by Car ter in Plains, Ga., two weeks ago, pledges the new president’s commitment to trans-Atlantic ties. Strains have eased considerably since the United States was accusing the Euro peans only two years ago of hostility on the economic and political front. The planned Brussels meetings are viewed as a pleasant overseas farewell for Kissinger, who has globe-trotted more than 550,000 miles in three years as secretary of state. With Carter’s backing, Kissinger hopes to boost Western resolve to maintain a first-rate defense, despite domestic pres sures building in Britain and elsewhere to cut costs as an anti-inflationary measure. One way preferred by the United States is to speed the process of standardizing NATO weapons. An estimated $10 billion a year is wasted through duplication and lack of standardized equipment. Carter’s message of reassurance is de signed to ease the uncertainty caused by his campaign pledge to cut the defense budget at least $5 billion. British Prime Minister James Callaghan, meanwhile, has said his government may have to choose between keeping the 55,000-man British Army of the Rhine in Germany and looking after its own economy. The worry over Britain adds to the prob lems caused the North Atlantic Treaty Or ganization by the Communist party’s strength in Italy and the quarrels between Turkey and Greece that have lessened their contributions to the military alliance. In Brussels, Kissinger also plans to re view the West’s negotiating position to ward the Soviet Union regarding a ba lanced reduction of military forces in cent ral Europe. , Berti marriaj g the 2( ay. f NBC is leav he loca ;how t< docu kesmar ing the i New Reps. O’Neill, Wright to lead U.S. House By JIM ADAMS Associated Press WASHINGTON — Reps. Thomas P. O’Neill and Jim Wright, the two new Democratic leaders of the House, say their two goals are to get the jobless back to work and clean up the House’s scandal-tarnished image. House Democrats yesterday caucused and elected Wright of Texas as majority leader by a 148 to 147 vote, upsetting Californian Phillip Burton. Big-city mayors reportedly backed Wright. O’Neill of Massachusetts was nominated Carter begins Cabinet search By FRANK CORMIER Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. — President-elect Carter is making the first of a series of trips to Atlanta to interview prospective Cabinet members in the privacy of the governor’s mansion he once occupied. Carter told reporters he would be con ducting such interviews in Atlanta today and tomorrow and when he visits Washing ton tomorrow and Friday. Aides later said they expect Carter to return to Atlanta "more than once” to meet personally with candidates for Cabinet-level positions. Reporters were forewarned they would be kept outside the grounds of the Georgia governor’s mansion today, and Carter indi cated the names of some visitors might be kept secret, at least for a while. Carter held an impromptu news confer ence yesterday outside the Plains polling place where hometown residents voted 90 to 71 to re-elect Mayor A. L. Blanton rather than turn over the town government to Billy Carter, the President-elect’s younger brother. The President-elect conceded there would be a lot of “guessing games” about his high level appointees, despite efforts to keep secret the names of those under con sideration. Later, he said, “As soon as I decide on any person for sure about a Cabinet ap pointment, I intend to go ahead and make that announcement. Carter said such announcements will take "much responsibility off my shoul ders,” because the persons he selects must immediately begin accepting much of the responsibility for planning administration policies in the areas they will oversee. After a mid-morning flight to Atlanta aboard a two-engine propeller plane, Car ter had a date with a dentist to get a cavity filled before beginning nearly seven hours of private meetings. Vice President-elect Walter F. Mondale participated in the sessions. After voting in the mayor’s race yester day, Carter said he was "deliberately keep ing my mind open” about a possible economy-stimulating tax cut early in 1977. “I have advisers who are leaning in all different directions,” he said. But he said his decision will wait "until around the first of the year when we get as many economic indicator reports as we can.” Atlanta attorney Charles Kirbo, a princi ple Carter adviser, met with the President-elect in Plains last night to dis cuss Carter’s promised blanket pardon for Vietnam draft evaders. Kirbo is heading a group of lawyers drawing up the proposal for Carter. A&M group claims 61 students Top seniors study under fellows program Completing their required college cur riculum is challenge enough for most stu dents — and more than enough for some. At most institutions, however, a few stu dents clearly demonstrate they are capable of work beyond the normally prescribed courses. An honors program is the tradi tional response, generally consisting of more demanding courses and perhaps a larger volume of assignments. Texas A&M University has gone a step beyond the honors program and is allowing its top seniors the opportunity to engage in scholarly studies and research usually car ried out only by graduate students or fa culty members. The new endeavor, called the University Undergraduate Fellows Program and of fered as a supplement to the regular honors program, is proving popular among the in stitution’s superior students, with 61 enrol led this fall, for a three-fold increase over last year, the first time it was offered. “This type program is ideally suited for Texas A&M, in that we have a large number of unusually qualified students coupled with a distinct research atmos phere on campus,” noted Dr. Melvin Friedman, who coordinates the new prog ram. He pointed out that Texas A&M is among the top 25 universities in the nation in enrollment of National Merit Scholars and in volume of expenditures for research. Dr. Friedman said students enrolled in the University Undergraduate Fellows Program have a chance to apply their “clas sroom learning” to practical areas that arouse their interest. “An English major, for example, can apply study of the novel to a particular author in space and time and then focus in on that author’s view of some specific topic, such as the role of women in society,” the geology professor explained, “or an economics student can move beyond the study of pure theory into the general effects of public policy on the Environmental Pro tection Agency’s policies on the economics of energy.’ Gaining admission to the program is no small accomplishment. To be eligible, the student must be a senior with a grade point ratio of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 system) and have the endorsement of a professor who agrees to be his or her faculty adviser, along with the approval of the appropriate de partment head and dean. After passing those hurdles, the student is then required to submit an endorsed six-page proposal. Once accepted to the program, the stu dent and his adviser participate in a “com munity of scholars which includes monthly meetings where students make presentations on their research topics. speaker by the Democrats by acclamation, tantamount to his election when Congress convenes Jan. 4. New York City Mayor Abraham D. Beame reportedly collected votes for Wright in return for Wright’s leadership role in winning congressional support of mass-transit money and New York City aid. Other mayors, including Chicago’s Richard Daley, urged Wright’s election largely for his leadership in boosting funds for mass transit in the nation’s cities. Although O’Neill declared strict neu trality in the four-man fight for Democratic leader, congressmen close to him and other candidates circulated word that O’Neill could accept anyone except Burton, his re puted rival for power. Wright was chairman of the task force that created House Democrats’ jobs pro gram in the last Congress. After his elec tion as majority leader, Wright told his party colleagues they must produce legisla tion “that will lift this country out of the slough of recession. ” O’Neill told them, "It is our responsibility to put the unemployed back to work. ” Wright also said he will strive to restore the "pinnacle of respect” he said the House deserves. O’Neill reiterated to reporters his plan to set up a special committee to stiffen House ethics in the wake of disclo sures that some congressmen have ac cepted cash and gifts from persons with alleged ties to the South Korean gover nment. Battalion to publish two more issues The Battalion will be published two more times this semester so that staff members have time to prepare for their finals. The remaining pa pers will come out tomorrow and Dec. 15. The first paper during the holidays will be published Jan. 5, 1977. Divining rod can prove honesty, predict events, Bryan man says Unemployment rate drops to 2.2% in Brazos County By BRENDA GRISSOM Can honesty be proven? Ben Polley, with the help of his divining rod, says it can. A divining rod is an instrument used by persons called dowsers to search for hidden facts. Polley said he dowsed for the honesty of three 1976 presidential candidates. Ford, Reagan and Carter were shown to be hon est about 55 to 60 per cent of the time, he said. Polley explained that the average per son is honest 85 per cent of the time. Dowsing apparently can determine more than honesty. When a skeptical friend challenged his dowsing ability, Pol- During November the Texas Employ ment Commission (TEC) in Bryan-College Station assisted 327 workers in finding jobs. This amount is a slight increase over the November 1975 total of 288. Registered unemployment in Brazos County in November took a drop from the November 1975 number. Last month 264 residents filed with the TEC for un employment, in contrast to a total of 500 claimants in 1975. From the preliminary statistics of Oc tober 1976 Brazos County had a labor force of 30,763 with 30,086 employed and 677 unemployed. This gives Brazos County an unemployment rate of 2.2 per cent. Science unable to prove God exists. Miller says Although current scientific theories of the origin of the universe seem to agree with creation as described in Genesis of the Bible, it is dangerous to try to prove the existence of God on the basis of these theories, said Dr. Gil Miller Friday night. Dr. Miller spoke on “Cosmogony and Creation” to the Gulf Southwest section of the American Scientific Affiliation. The Af filiation ia a non-profit national organiza tion of about 2,500 scientists who believe in God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ as the son of God. Cosmogony is the study of the origin of the universe. The danger in trying to prove the exis tence of God with scientific theories is that theories come and go . The “big bang” theory of creation could be identified with the Biblical creation, Miller said. The big bang theory describes the universe as having been formed from an exploding ball of hot, condensed gases suspended in a vacuum. This theory has evidence to support it and is now generally accepted among cosmogonists. Miller said. Debate now centers around how many big bangs there could be, Miller said. Scientists have observed that the uni verse is expanding, presumably as a result of the big bang explosion. According to the “closed model” of the universe, the expanding universe will reach a maximum size and then begin to contract. It will return to its original con densed state and then explode and start all over again. The closed model is infinitely oscillating, with lots of “bangs.” The “open model” of the universe holds that there was only one bang and the uni verse will go on expanding forever. Although scientists have determined that the rate of the universe’s expanaion is currently slowing down, the open model has the edge in the debate. Miller said. But he does not advise Christians to decide on the basis of faith. Miller said that if a Christ ian tries to use God to explain things that aren’t understood, and then later a natural explanation is found, some might decide that they “don’t need God.” Ben Polley ley said he dowsed 10 of his friend’s mares who were ready to foal and predicted each foal’s sex. “Out of 10, I never missed one. I made a believer out of him,” Polley said. A divining rod is also proficient in dis covering vitamin deficiencies, car prob lems, an unborn child’s sex, and lost people, he said. Polley emphasized that, however, the instrument can’t be used to predict events. It can only be used to discover something that already exists or that has happened. “You can’t predict with the instrument and you can’t do anything harmful or evil with it,” said Polley. “For anything that’s none of your business, you’ve got to have the subject’s permission to dowse except for when the law is being broken.” With the help ofhis silver-hued divining rod and topographic maps, Polley said he’s discovered underground oil, mineral, and water deposits in Brazos County. “Only one of them has been verified, I’m waiting for the others to develop,” he said. T’ve also located some opal and other minerals out at Big Bend,” he added. “When one learns how to use a dowsing rod, there’s nothing you can’t find.” Polley, 66, uses his divining rod to keep a check on his blood pressure. Amid the or ganized clutter of magazines and a rock collection he demonstrated his dowsing technique. He placed on a table a sheet of paper with numbers written on it and gripped the handle of his divining rod with his right hand. He passed the chrome, brass, and plastic rod slowly over the paper once, then twice. The third time, the tip of the rod pointed down at 134. He completed the process again and the instrument pointed at 84. T’ve been to the doctor and my blood pressure is right in the area of 134-84,” Polley said. Polley said he learned to dowse in a course offered by Treasure Hunting, Un limited in Truth or Consequences, N. M. A three-day basic course costs $200, he said. In addition, a $300 dowsing rod must be purchased. “People laugh when you say something about dowsing. They don’t understand,” Polley said. “It’s something that works that just can’t be explained. ” P r