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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1977)
Vol. 70 No. 93 16 Pages Battalion Wednesday, March 23, 1977 News Dept. 845-2611 College Station, Texas Business Dept. 845-2611 ‘Up With People’ features songs from other cultures “Up With People,” a group of more than 100 students who tour the world singing and dancing with hopes of bringing people closer to gether, performed a medley of songs portraying the various cul tures of the members of the group for the audience at the Bryan Civic auditorium last night. The group brought a portion of the audience into its act (below) when several of the dancers formed a caravan and brought members of the audience up on the stage. Dancers also performed the na tive dance of Canada (right) as well as dances from other cultures around the world. (See related story. Page 4.) Battalion photos by Tracie Nordheim Facts team to give Carter report on Asia By HELEN THOMAS United Press International WASHINGTON — President Carter arranged today for a personal report from his fact-finding commission on Americans missing in Vietnam and the outlook for a “new beginning” for the United States in Southeast Asia. Pleased with results of the mission. Car ter arranged to receive the members, headed by United Auto Workers’ Presi dent Leonard Woodcock, this morning. The White House planned also to unveil today the salary increases Carter has ap proved for some 50 top-level aides. Jody Powell, Carter’s press secretary said the amounts are “substantially” below the 29 per cent maximum permitted by law. Carter’s top aides are eligible for salary hikes under the same legislation that gave raises to members of Congress and other top officials earlier in the year. Besides establishing the first direct U.S. diplomatic contacts with Vietnam and Laos since the end of the war, the Wood cock commission persuaded officials in Hanoi to turn over the remains of 14 Americans who lost their lives as a result of the conflict. Former Sen. Mike Mansfield, D-Mont. told reporters “the trip portended a new beginning in Southeast Asia in the after- math of the Vietnam war.” In the meantime. Carter forged ahead with preparations for Secretary of State Cyrus Vance’s trip to Moscow Friday for “serious and constructive arms limitation talks with Soviet officials, despite rising; tensions over Carter’s strong stand on human rights. Powell told reporters Carter welcomes and agrees with Soviet Leader Leonid Brezhnev’s statement that he has the “right to comment” on American internal affairs and does not feel his own support of Soviet dissenters will torpedo the talks. “We do not fear open debate on the prin ciples which guide our respective societies before the court of world opinion,” Powell said. “. . . but we frankly state that for our own part we will not allow this open, healthy debate to stand in the way of our strong and publicly-expressed desire to negotiate seriously and in good faith to re duce the burden of the arms race . . . and to reduce the threat of nuclear destruction that now endangers all the people of the world.” The President met with the National Security Council yesterday to wrap up a package of proposals for a new strategic arms agreement. Vance will present the package to Soviet officials. The President plans to hold a nationally televised news conference tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. CST. He also plans to see former President Gerald R. Ford later in the afternoon. ‘Non-politician wants party equality By WENDY TAYLOR He was the first elector to cast a vote for a woman vice presidential candidate, and was a co-creator of the NBC-TV series, “Little House on the Prairie.” He was also the Libertarian Party’s 1976. presidential candidate. “You can tell by looking at me I’m not a politician,” heavy-set Roger L. MacBride said last night in a speech sponsored by Political Forum. “I have only one face.” Now in his late forties, the pink-faced man with the red-checked tie, thick- lensed glasses, and thinning gray hair in deed, did not, look like a politician. But MacBride is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, a former Vermont state legislator and the 1972 presidential elector from Virginia. Speaking before about 100 persons in Rudder Tower, MacBride explained the Libertairan Party ideals, and the obstacles that defeated the party in last year’s elec tion. “I like to explain Libertarianism by talk ing about the ‘tripod of Libertarianism’ — non-intervention, free economy and civil liberty,” MacBride said. “I believe the United States should have a noninterventionist policy, meaning no military relationships with other coun tries, no threatening and no pressuring, ” he said. MacBride’s answer to inflation is a “free economy. ” “Sixty per cent of inflation is a direct effect of government intervention,” he said. MacBride cited the elimination of trucking rates and high taxes as two exam ples of the government inducing inflation and eliminating a free economy within our society. The third “leg” of MacBride’s Libertar ian tripod is civil liberty. “I think we should be left to deal with our own personal lives,” he said. “Who is the government to tell us we must restrict our saccharine intake? Who are they to decide for us if pot is dangerous or not? I had one medical doctor tell me it is per fectly safe, and another to say it is danger ous. I think the individual should be left to decide for himself. ” MacBride said a reason for his party’s defeat in the 1976 election was the Repub lican and Democratic parties’ dominance of the political scene. “Forty per cent of Americans are sick and tired of Republicans and Democrats, but still there is a steady decline in third party importance,” he noted. MacBride said this decline can be at tributed to state ballot law requirements “deliberately made too tough” to keep most candidates off the ballot. He said Georgia law requires a minor party candi date to present a petition with 100,000 signatures before he can be placed on the ballot. MacBride said the Watergate Reform Act also favors the two major parties. “This act is grotesque in its slant toward the Republican and Democratic parties,” he said. It places a $1,000 limit on personal con tributions to a campaign party. “But where these two major parties got each of their $1,000 contributions matched by the federal government, the minor par ties did not,” he said. Nor did the Libertarian Party receive $2 million for a party convention, or $22 mil lion for the party’s national campaign as did the Republican and Democratic par ties, MacBride added. MacBride said the national news media was the third major element of the Liber tarian Party’s 1976 defeat. “There’s no reason in the world why we shouldn’t be heard,” the former presiden tial candidate said. “The national media is not interested in issues, but rather, only in personalities. That’s why we hear so much about Billy and Lillian Carter.” M acBride said the Federal Com munications Commissions’ Doctrine of Equal Time added to the party’s lack of coverage. “If I decide to run again,” he said “or whoever is the next Libertarian presiden tial candidate, we plan to learn the appro priate strategies to overcome these obsta cles.” Roger L. MacBride Battalion photo by Richard Wallace Corps honors regents Prior to a board meeting yesterday morning, the regents viewed a special corps review and ate dinner in Duncan Dining Hall Monday night. Shown speaking with senior corps members are center. Dr. Jack Williams, and, right, regent Dick Goodson. Also pictured (L-R) are: Glenn Francis, accounting; Dave Borsack, finance; Kenneth Weynand, Ag. Eng.; Dr. Williams; Dick Goodson; and Dan Kaspar, Agro. Business. One lawmaker criticizes bill House backs malpractice legislation United Press International AUSTIN — Medical malpractice legisla tion approved by the House will not solve the problem of physicians’ increasing in surance rates, says the Central Texas law maker who cast the only vote against the measure. The House tentatively approved mal practice legislation 145-1 yesterday, re jecting a handful of amendments sup ported by the Texas Medical Association, The College Station City Council yes terday afternoon voted to cancel collection of past personal property accounts that are considered too hard to collect, such as bankruptcy cases. City Manager North Bardell said all but one of the tax bills were for no more than a few dollars. Councilman Gary Halter voted against and scheduled it for final consideration to day. Rep. John Wilson, D-LaGrange, said he voted against the proposal because it did not include mandatory arbitration of mal practice claims. California enforces bind ing arbitration and it has worked, Wilson said. “Until the time comes when we have a workmen’s compensation approach to medical malpractice, we will always have the cancellation, saying he considered tax evaders as bad as bank robbers. Two weeks ago council members de cided to begin meeting every other Tues day at 4:30 p.m. to go over the work load of the regular Thursday night meetings. Council members also decided to form a committee of city staff members who will consider charging fees for inspecting con- problems. In my opinion, it (the bill) is a compromise that nobody wins,” Wilson said. Wilson said the courts will continue to be jammed with malpractice cases until the state requires arbitration outside of the courtroom. Hundreds of doctors scheduled “house calls” to the legislature in an effort to in fluence action on the malpractice legisla tion, which the Texas Medical Association contends is too weak. struction in Brazos County. The city has not been charging for inspections. The council tabled consideration of a final plat resubdividing lots 42-52 and 55 feet of lot 55 and 56-58 of the Richards Addition. They also passed a final plat of Southwood Valley, Section 7-D, and ap proved a final plat resubdividing lot 14, block 2 of the Wolf Pen Planned Urban Development. The House defeated each of the Texas Medical Association backed amendments offered in support of Uher’s document which was the work of a 21-member sub committee. “They all worked for it — that makes it a much more difficult bill to stop,” said Rep. Pike Powers, D- Beaumont, who spon sored the unsuccessful TMA amendments. “Obviously, this bill is going to pass.” Rep. Buck Florence, D-Hughes Spring, said he resented the Texas Medical As sociation’s lobbying efforts, claiming the proposal already “contained many plus; factors” for doctors. “I regretted being put in a position of fighting the doctors. But I don’t want to let the doctors be a specialized species exempt from any liability,” Florence said. Several physicians seated in the House gallery took notes, scoffed and wrote the names as House members voted on the issues. “You can’t shove the faces of the people of Texas in the dirt for the sake of the doc tors,” said Rep. Matt Garcia, D-San An tonio. Council forgives some bad debts Construction will provide 2,000 housing units Texas A&M University officials predict that students should have little problem locating off-campus housing next semes ter, based on an estimate that construction will provide dwellings for 2,000 more stu dents than last fall. Karen Switzer, student development coordinator in the University’s student af fairs department, said more than 250 apartment-type units are slated for fall opening and construction for a total of 428 multiple dwelling units was permitted last month. She said it was possible that another 186 units might be permitted in March, further easing problems in finding com petitive housing. Some rumors have persisted in Dallas and Houston areas that A&M students would find a severe housing shortage this fall, but estimates indicate no real lack of off-campus housing for Aggies in the 1977-78 year. Texas high school counselors have also been alerted by letter in an effort to counter such rumors, said Switzer. Information on housing availability, leasing, subletting and general campus services can be obtained from Switzer’s of fice. Housing data will be collected and posted beginning April 1 and a roommate selector service, operated by the Hassle- Free organization, will begin the same day. Weather Partly cloudy and mild today with an expected high in the low 70s. Winds are southeasterly at 5-8 m.p.h. Low tomorrow will be in the low 60s. High tomorrow in the upper 70s. Winds tomorrow will be south southeasterly at 8 to 14 nrupiu