Page 2
Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Tuesday
September 27, 1977
Bagging safety
United Press International
It’s not surprising the auto industry hasn’t rushed out and equipped all
cars with air bags even though the devices have been available for a number
of years.
Even after car manufacturers installed seat belts, many motorists refused
to use them. There is nothing to say that the public will be any more prone to
accept the air bags even if these safety devices do become standard equip
ment on all motor vehicles.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that more than half the
27,000 auto accident deaths each year result from crashes in which air bags
or automatic seat restraints woidd prevent fatalities. So Transportation Sec-
retary Brock Adams has ordered automatic crash protection devices installed
in all new cars by 1984.
But persuading the public to utilize them will be another matter.
Parkersburg VV. Va., News
The score: Insiders 1, Carter 0
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON—The end of an affair
is always an awkward moment, and that
was surely the case with the Lance affair.
The President of the United States did all
that he could to enable his friend, Bert
Lance, to leave the administration with a
degree of dignity and decorum.
His emotions evident, despite his usual
tight discipline. Carter said not one word
to add to the pain that his first and closest
appointee, the budget director, felt at his
involuntary departure. By maintaining his
composure under evident strain and dis
playing his loyalty. Carter probably sal
vaged for himself whatever could be sal
vaged from the whole unhappy business.
But no one on a White House staff that
was both sobered and saddened by the
events of last week made any ettort to dis
guise the pain of the first major crisis of
confidence in the new administration.
On at least three different levels, they
Realistically had to reckon the Lance affair
a costly one for themselves and the Presi-
'dent.
* First, it marked a major setback to their
•struggle to carve out a place for their Pres-
!ident safely out of reach of the waves of
[cynicism that have eroded public trust in
[so much else in government.
» For weeks, some of these men and
women had empathized with the anguish
Ithe. President felt as he was driven to
jehuose between applying the stern
•
Letters to the editor
standard of disinterested public service he
had promised for his administration, and
his human impulse to believe that his
closest colleague in government could do
no wrong.
For weeks, many of them had known
that in the end, the President must sac
rifice Lance if he was to preserve the first
premise of his administration—its claim to
public trust. The financial manipulations
that had gone undetected when Lance was
selected and confirmed were—whatever
Lance or Carter might say—serious
enough to provoke continuing official and
press investigations.
Only by separating Lance from the ad
ministration was Carter able, belatedly, to
spare himself from becoming increasingly,
defensively involved in Lance’s effort to
avoid prosecution.
At a second level, the Lance affair was
costly to the administration—not in terms
of image or ideals—but in the very real
world of political power. More than most
new Presidents, Carter had come to town
with elbows out, ready to challenge the
Congress, the bureaucracy and the press
for control of the policy process.
Lance, for all his ingratiating manner,
left no doubt whose side he was on in that
struggle: He was the President’s enforcer.
Thus, when rivals in the power game
began raising questions about Lance, the
President and his men inevitably reacted
as if their authority were being
challenged—and not just the sincerity of
their campaign statements.
Had they not fought to save Lance, they
would have earned the contempt of politi
cal Washington. But having fought and
lost, they now pay the price—at least for a
while—of ceding points to the bureau
erats, the Senators and the journalists they
tried to checkmate through the save-
Lanee strategies. In crude terms, the
scoreboard reads: Insiders, 1; Georgians,
0.
And that brings the final point. What
the Lance struggle showed once again,
was how thin the ranks of real Carter
loyalists are. Reporters who covered the
Carter campaign learned that he was
something of a tactical genius in getting
maximum impact from the handful of polit
ical lieutenants in his command.
But they really were a handful. In the
early primaries, where they could concen-
Correction
We goofed
In the Friday, Sept. 16 Battalion,
a story by Karen Rogers entitled
“Humane society seeks funds for
new shelter incorrectly reported
that the Brazos Valley Humane So
ciety failed to receive funds for a
new animal shelter. The correct
name of the organization is the
Humane Society of Brazos County.
The Battalion regrets the error.
trate on one or two states at a time, Carter
did well. But his performance slumped,
because his human resources were in
adequate, in the closely bunched late
primaries. And in the general election, he
barely held on to win.
The paucity of his proven staff resources
was disguised somewhat by the impression
of hundreds of new people moving into
offices after Inauguration Day. Carter
seemed for a time the general of an impos
ing army.
But, as has been said here before, it is
only in the heat of the first crisis that one
can measure the inner dynamics of a new
administration. In the Lance crisis, it very
quickly became clear that Carter relied
principally on three other of his Georgia
associates—Hamilton Jordan, Jody Powell
and Robert Lipshutz, with lesser roles for
two others of the group, Frank Moore and
Griffin Bell.
None of the three principal defenders
avoided criticism for his performance even
within the White House itself. And, in the
end, of course, neither they nor Carter
was able to save Lance, whose loss all of
them, including the President, will feel
every day.
More than a month ago, one of those
defenders said, in all earnestness: “Jimmy
Carter will not be as good a President as he
is capable of being if he loses Bert Lance.
Now he has lost him, and the ranks of
the Carter guard are even thinner.
(V) W77, The W'tisliin^lriri rn\i ( ompany
Student government a necessary evil
* Editor
I As I have submitted my resignation as a
[member of the Student Senate this morn
ing, 1 would like to commend those who
•do remain serving in our Student Gov
ernment.
I From what I have seen in my very lim-
jted stay in the Senate, I would say these
[students for the most part deserve our ap
preciation. That so many obviously intelli
gent people would bi-monthly subject
•themselves to what often turns into a less-
Sntelligent form of verbal bantering is be-
Rond me. As I suppose Student Govern-
nfient is a necessary evil of our University
•system, I am thankful to those students
Avho will make decisions concerning the
Jhirty minutes of actual business along
\vith listening to the three hours of
psuedo-legislataive, political discourse.
►. I make no claims of knowing a better
[hay of running a student government. I
Jmagine people will be people in whatever
capacity they are serving. I think it’s sad,
However, that so much valuable time is
continually wasted in our Senate by a few
individuals who enjoy hearing themselves
[•peak at others expense.
—Beth Krugler
• Editor’s note: Amen.
Why blackouts?
Editor:
The first power failure in College on
September 7 inconvenienced a lot of
people but was tolerable. This latest one is
nothing but a headache. As I write this
letter by candlelight, my Timex shows that
the lights have been out for 7-1/2 hours.
And I don’t plan to stay up all night and
wait for them to come back on.
Obviously, something’s wrong. I was
under the impression that when Gulf
States was decided on by the City Council
to provide electricity for College Station,
that they could provide this service. How
ever, in the few months they have been
here, at least 40% of College Station has
had not one but two blackouts. A company
can be expected to have problems starting
up in a new area, but this is ridiculous.
Students and residents lose valuable
time in a blackout; not to mention the in
convenience of being without power.
Businesses in the effected area suffer even
more. City Manager Bardell asked us after
the first failure to cut our energy use.
Even if it wasn’t cut and that caused the
failure, there still seems to be more than
just a transformer problem here.
Has College Station let itself over build
while power capacity has not kept up? Did
College Station switch over from Bryan
Utilities too early? Who is going to pay the
cost of the blackout? What can we expect
in the future? All of these questions need
to be considered by the city. In light of
these two blackouts, maybe Bryan
Utilities wasn’t so bad after all.
In the three years I have lived in this
area, the lights have not been out for more
than an hour when Bryan supplied the
power. And what can I say for G.S.U.’s
service? Nothing!
—Dale Campisi
Editor’s note: A private electrical con
sulting firm is investigating the reason
College Station’s substation shorted out,
causing the first blackout, city manager
North Bardell said last night. The firm is
trying to determine whether some un
known fault in the transformer or some
defective part caused the transformer to
short out, he said. A final report on that
investigation is expected in the next two
weeks.
The failure last week occurred when a
power line cross arm broke, forcing Gulf
States Utilities to shut off their power
through the line until the broken arm
could be found. Finding that break and
repairing it took almost eight hours of the
blackout.
Apparently, the same kind of problems
existed with Bryan Utilities. College Sta
tion had power outages when Bryan
Utilities was providing all the city’s
power, Bardell said.
Another chance
Editor:
I have both questions and comments
concerning the article in the Sept. 23 edi
tion of the Battalion entitled, “Give a dog
another chance.
It is my understanding that a city pound
picks up any stray animal, whether sick or
aggressive, that is running loose in a
neighborhood. I agree that a dog pound
should protect a community from this type
of animal. It is the pound’s policy to hold
the animal for five days. If the stray animal
is not claimed within this time period, it is
taken to the Texas A&M vet school to be
destroyed. After the animal has been de
stroyed it is then used for experimental
purposes merely for the name of medical
science. Surely the Bryan dog pound em
ployees could take the time to find a home
for the stray animal, or if it is sick, have
special facilities for certain cases.
The Bryan dog pound does not particu
larly sound as if it is doing an adequate job.
The article states, “The pound is unsuper
vised much of the day, the only visitors
being the animal control officers and the
sanitation department worker. No one is
there at night. If the employees are not
on hand during most of the day, why can’t
they use the time to find a future home for
the captured stray animal?
The residents of Bryan had the chance
to vote for monies to be allocated toward a
new pound but voted against this propo
sal. If the proposal had passed, perhaps
the captured animals would not be de
stined to be destroyed. Perhaps a service
could have been set up to provide a new
home for the stray animal, instead of hand
ing the life of the animal over to the vet
school.
—Susan Welih
Class of 1979
An all-time low
Editor:
I am writing in regard to an incident
that occurred during the Texas Tech game
last Saturday night. I, like a lot of loyal Ags
who didn’t get tickets, was watching the
game on closed circuit television in G. Rol-
lie White. In the first quarter, the Red
Raider quarterback Rodney Allison was
seriously injured and to my amazement,
the crowd around me went wild! I am
shocked to think our level of sportsman
ship and fair play at A&M has reached
such an all time low.
There have been Aggies in my family for
years and I remember the concerned si
lence that used to sweep the stands
whenever a player went down and the
heartfelt applause he received when re
moved from the field no matter what
color jersey he wore or what the score. It
was respect. It was tradition. There have
been many changes at A&M in recent
years but I shudder to think the Twelfth
Man is losing the spirit and good
sportsmanship that has set us aside from
the rest of the conference for years. Rapid
growth does hot mean we have to forget
the things that make us Aggies and I sin
cerely hope, for one, that this was only an
isolated incident on our way to the Cotton
Bowl. —J- Erskine
Class of ’79
Bikes bar ramps
Editor:
Having just read the front page article in
the 9/21/77 Battalion entitled “Ramp con
struction meets needs of handicapped, I
find it necessary to point out a few flaws
concerning these ramps.
I am not a handicapped person myself
but I find it very disturbing when I see the
ramps built for the handicapped persons
blocked completely by parked bicycles. I
have on numerous occasions seen wheel
chair students solicit help from others to
move these parked bicycles in order to use
the ramps. This is totally unnecessary.
Bicyclists should realize on their own that j
they should not park in these areas, but,
since they are apparently unwilling to
cooperate, they should be penalized, i
either by impounding the bicycles or tick
eting, just as vehicles are when parked in
unauthorized areas.
Feeling certain that the expense in
volved in providing these ramps was not
nominal and that they were not provided
for the convenience of bicyclists, regulations
should be provided and/or enforced to
ensure that these areas will remain acces
sible to the handicapped persons on cam
pus. If they continue to remain blocked,
what is the purpose in providing them?
—Kathy Weaver
Slouch
by Jim Earle
“Wanna make some people happy? Just say Texas Tech when you pass
them!”
Top of the News
Campus
Silver Taps set tonight
Silver Taps will be held tonight for Texas A&M University
graduate student Wayne D. Peevey, 35, who died early Sunday inhis
home here. The central campus flag will fly at half-staff for five Texas
A&M staff members who died during September: Dr. William R.
Smith, psychology professor and former department chairman who
died Sept. 23 of a gunshot wound. A ruling still pends in the case,
Peace Justice B. H. Dewey Jr. said Monday. Rites were held
Monday. Col. John F. Oliver, professor emeritus of accounting who
retired in 1971. He died Sept. 19. Roy C. Bell, former baseball coach
and Texas A&M’s first All-American athlete. A 1972 retiree, Bell died
Sept. 14. Dr. Stephen S. Chen, chemical physicist with the Ther-
modymanics Research Center until his death Sept. 9. Dr. Tyrus R,
Timm, professor emeritus of agricultural economics who retired in
1975. He died Sept. 3.
State
Teague still undecided
Olin E. Teague (D-Texas) has not decided whether he will run fora
seat in the United States Congress. "I have not discouraged any
single individual, nor have I decided as yet whether or not I shall run.
It is the American system and each and every individual has a right to
run for public office. Because of the provisions of the Federal Elec
tion Laws, I have advised each and every member of my staff that if
they become involved in any campaign of any individual, even my
self, that they will be removed from my payroll.
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Mental patient falls 3 stories
A 24-year-old mental patient jumped or fell from a third-story
mezzanine in the Capitol rotunda Monday and was reported in criti
cal condition. The man was identified as Glen Dave Knox, a resident
at Austin State Hospital. Two eyewitnesses said Knox climbed over
the waist high railing and jumped, but another witness said befell
accidentally.
Nation
Loner ranks increase
The number of bachelors living alone is growing faster than the
number of women living by themselves, but there are still far more
women maintaining their own households. The Census Bureau re
ported Sunday that the number of men living alone has risen 60
percent in the past seven years, while the number of women living
done is up 35 percent. Among persons under 25, the number of men
living alone tripled since 1970 and the number of women living alone
has doubled. Although the number of men living by themselves has
increased rapidly since 1970, women still represent 64 percent of
persons living alone.
No beer in Oklahoma
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Oklahomans couldn’t buy strong beer made by Coors or three
other major breweries if they wanted to Monday, because there’s not
a bottle left in the state. The director of the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board said Coors notified the Ixiard it has ceased strong beer
sales as of last Saturday because of a district court ruling that a brew
ery must sell to all wholesalers rather than only those franchised bv
the,brewery. The court opinion, which has been appealed to the state
Supreme Court, was based on a constitutional reejuirement that all
manufacturers of hard liquor, wine or strong beer must sell on the
same price basis and beer. C<x>rs contended it had to limit outlets to
control quality.
Folgers introduces flaked coffee
The Folger Coffee Co., Monday announced plans to expand the
market for its economical flaked coffee and give consumers more
relief from high coffee prices. Folger s flaked coffee, designed for use
in automatic drip coffeemakers, increases the amount of coffee ex
tracted from each roasted particle. The flaked coffee is “significantly
more economical to use without any sacrifice in quality,’ Folger said.
The product now will be sold in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho,
Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.
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World
C7. N. debate begins in New York
Presidents, heads of state and foreign ministers of 149 nations
began converging on New York for the opening Monday of the 1977
General Assembly debate, with the United States playing a key role
in behind-the-scenes negotiations. Speakers from nearly all of the
member nations are to take the podium to express their views of the
world and each other . President Carter will address the assembly
next week. On the United Nations agenda this year are 126 items
ranging from the Middle East, Southern Africa and Cyprus to Grena
da s request to establish a special U.N. committee to investigate the
“possibly hostile’ intentions of UFO’s.
Pope Paul reaches 80 years
Pope Paul VI marked his 80th birthday Monday, fearing his ap
proaching death and final judgment in the eyes of God. Pope Paul set
a somber tone for his birthday celebration in an address to 60,000
persons gathered Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Despite talk of death,
the Vatican has said the pontiff is in relatively good health for a man of
his age and work habits, though he is known to suffer from arthritis.
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Weather
Partly cloudy and hot with southerly winds 10-14 mph. No
chance of rain. High today and tomorrow mid-90s. Low to
night mid-70s with winds diminishing to 2-5 mph.
The Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
editor or of the whter of the article and are not necessarily
those of the University administration or the Board of Re
gents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting
enterprise operated by students as a university and com
munity newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the
editor.
LETTERS POUCY
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are
subject to Ifeing 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 Letters to the Editor, The
Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College
Station, Texas 77843.
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The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from
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Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 ft
school year; $35. (X) per full year. Advertising rates ^
nished on request. Address: The Battalion. Rubin
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United Press International is entitled exclusively toll*
use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited lid
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein rcsiW
Second-Class postage paid at College Station. TX 7TM)
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Jamie Ailh 1
Managing Editor Man Aliee WoihIIu®
Editorial Director Lee Hoy Leselipn)
Sports Editor Hanl Anrf
News Editors Mai n* 1 lomeyer. Uaml Mejff
Reporters Rusty Cawley, kim Ty.vd
Clcnna Whitley. Darrell Linford. Ijz.Vuto
Photographer Ken llrrnfl
Student Publications Board: Bob C. Rogers. Chainim
Joe Amdondo: Dr. (buy Halter. Dr. John U. 11(111#
Robert llaiTcy: Dr. Charles McCandless: Dr. CliiilM .1
Phillips: Rebel Rice. Director of Student hihliailm'
Donald Jidmson. Production Coordinator: \\. .W
Sherman J
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