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