Page 2 Viewpoint The Battaiion Texas A&M University Tuesday November 15, 1977 The price of new blood in Congress Indications are that Congress may quietly drop the idea of easing some of its older members out the door with a $3,000 a year going away present. Skipping the arithmetical complications, a rep resentative or senator retiring at the end of the 95th Congress in 1978 with 20 to 22 years service w ill receive a less-than-spartan pension of $42,880 a year. It seemed to House Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill Jr. that extending that $3,000 to con gressmen retiring next year would help clear our a lot of aging wood on Captitol Hill and he slipped legislation to that effect through the House. The measure now is before the Senate, where it is beginning to receive the attention it so richly deserves. Surprisingly, the idea is supported by the so- called people’s lobby. Common Cause, whose president, David Cohen, says it is worth the money to “infuse new blood into the institution.” For an organization dedicated to improving the democratic process, this is a rather elitist at titude. What this implies is that if the folks back home don’t have enough sense to retire a repre sentative or a senator who has become a mere time-server in Congress, then it will have to be done for them. A corollary assumption is that any congressman who has been around for more than 20 years is an obstacle in the path of progress. But it ain’t neces sarily so. Admittedly, some members of Congress can’t be dislodged by anything short of death or dyna mite. So naturally it’s exceedingly difficult for “new blood” to challenge an entrenched incum bent. But people become entrenched in elective of fice because the voters put them there and the voters keep them there. This, for better or worse, is democracy. Of course, any congressman who would feel strapped on a pension of $42,880 a year and who would let himself be “bought” for an extra $3,000 probably deserves to be retired. But the people ought to do it—not the U.S. Treasury. Lubbock Avalanche-Journal David Broder A national disaster waiting to happen By DAVID S. BRODER - WASHINGTON—The Lance affair is yes- ' terday’s headline, and as everyone knows, ’ nothing is more outdated than that. But ' before you flip complacently to the next topic, note these two sentences from a - just-issued study by Common Cause, the public-interest organization: l “If it had not been Bert Lance and the « Committee on Governmental Affairs, it ' would have been another nominee and ' another committee. The Senate confirma- - tion process was a national disaster waiting - to happen. ” Z Strong words, but harsh judgment 'would not be denied by many senators, ; especially those involved in the Lance af- »fair. The common Cause study provides a ' powerful prod for the passage of the kind - of remedial legislation proposed by Sens. : Abraham A. Ribicoff (D-Conn.) and ' Charles H. Percy (R-Ill.) to spare them- ' selves, the Senate and the country the - embarrassment of another Lance affair. * Lance was an embarrassment to the Se- Z nate, as well as the administration, be- Z cause the financial practices that eventu- ' ally caused him to resign went undetected * in the charade that passed for a confirma- - tion hearing last January. * Yet the Common Cause study shows ' that the Lance hearing was a model of pro- ; cedural purity and care compared to-those * in which most of President Carter’s senior > appointees were confirmed. Lance’s con- ;I firmation met six of the 11 criteria >1 suggested for a full, fair test of an appoin- tee’s suitability. Only two of the 11 cabinet > members had even as rigorous an exam- > ination as did Lance. And in some cases, •Z the procedure can hardly be dignified with •* the name of a confirmation process. ■Z If you want an example of that process, > take the care of Bob Bergland, the practic- Nwr" INWt&S L£*S2 C<*»So7»BI*£ ing farmer and member of the House of Representatives who was named as Secre tary of Agriculture. ’ ' - So far as is kndwn,’ Bergland has no Lance-type problems. Common Cause is careful to say it is not passing judgement on his qualifications to run the farm pro grams. But the Senate Agriculture Committee, which confirmed him after a one-day hear ing, did not put him under oath; did not make public his financial disclosure state ment; did not require any public resolution of his potential conflict of interest as a farm owner; did not require him to discuss in public his past or future politicaPaetivitieST* The committee posed no wrifteh policy questions To him iif^dvanOe. It issued no formal report explaining why it recom mended his confirmation. It did not even make the transcript hearing available in print to other senators or the public until six weeks after Bergland had been con firmed. There was no record vote in com mittee or on the Senate floor on his ap proval. Nor was this unusual. Of the first 50 major Carter appointees who came before the Senate, Common Cause says only 14 were required to make public financial disclosures. Only ten (including Lance) had more than one day of hearings. Only six had their hearing transcripts in print at the time the Senate confirmed them. That kind of record merits the Common Cause comment that, “The Senate confir mation process is a rubber stamp machine The remedies, some of which are em bodied in the Ribicoff-Percy bill, are as obvious as they are overdue. The Senate needs to develop a uniform disclosure form on both finances and political activi ties of nominees. Only a few committees now have such forms. It needs to conduct its own careful in vestigation of the background and qualifi cations of presidential appointees. Ribicoff, Percy and Common Cause be lieve this task is beyond the capacity of existing committee staffs. They propose creation of a new Office of Nominations to do this work for all the Senate committees. Whether such an addition to the bur geoning Senate bureaucracy is really needed may be debatable. But there can be no argument about the need for an in dependent appraisal of the nominee’s qualifications—not just a passing nod at ‘'-the President’s recbmmendations. Finally, the process of confirmation needs to be made more deliberate so that questions can be asked, reports written transcripts read, and reactions weighed — before the Senate gives its assent to the President’s choice. Those changes will not draw the head lines the Lance affair received. But they could prevent its recurrence, and that would be a good day’s work for the Senate and the country. (c) 1977, The Washington Post Company Letters to the editor How much energy will America sacrifice? •Editor: - While I was listening to President Car- * ter last night, I decided that the reason he * and the Congress were unable to agree on ' the energy program was their basic at- * titude toward the American people. Presi- • dent Carter believes the American public < is mature enough to support a comprehen- ; sive energy program that calls for sacrifices * from everyone. ' Our Congressmen, now and in the past, • seem to believe the public is not willing to < make necessary sacrifices. These politi- Z cians would attack the problem piece meal ' and would not have a comprehensive solu- • tion. This is the more popular position un- • less the public can demonstrate a maturity - that the Congressional politicians do not - think we possess. Of course, there are a lot ' of oil company money for politicians that * would agree to give the companies • windfall profits on their oil. * There are many provisions of the Presi- I dent’s energy package that will harm me ' personally, but I am willing to sacrifice some of my lifestyle for the welfare of our • country. I believe a majority of the Ameri- - can people are too, even though the big oil ^ corporations have been able to appeal to ' our selfish instincts and have delayed this ' program. - Those Congressmen that underestimate - the patriotism, intelligence and maturity ' of the people should be wary of the next * election. This includes the Senators and • Representatives in this state. —Houston Thompson If you hear me talking during the tra ditionally silent Silver Taps, it is because I have stubbed my toe on the memorial water cooler inside the traditionally blacked-out corps dorms. —Lewis Ciochetto rule. That majority made this nation great. The time is now or never. The decision is yours. —Ben F. Pritchett Class of ‘49 Keep majority rule Who losing hurts Don’t live in the past Editor: 3 I would like to briefly say something on the overworked issue of tradition at this f. university. ~Z First, I should say that I am not a com- •' munist, and am a practicing heterosexual. I have been here four years, am a member > of the fighting Aggie Corps, and therefore > believe that I am no less of an Aggie than y anyone else around here. •Z I speak against those who wish to turn A&M into a graveyard of memorial grass, > trees, football stadiums, student centers, etc. I respect this university not only for •' what it has been, but for what it is and will ■Z be. It is alive and growing, unlike the •' opinions of some people. Editor: I wish to appeal today to all Aggies to consider the dangerous threat of one world government that is dedicated to destroy ing all that made the United States of America into a great nation. The world governmentalists are actual or de facto dis ciples of Karl Marx. They have infiltrated every important facet of our American cul ture. They are dedicated to the wiping out of the middle class of Americans and their cherished right to own and manage the re turns of their labor and ability. They are rapidly wiping out our representative re public form of government mandated by the will of the majority as set up by our founding fathers. Our federal government enforces the will of various minorities upon the major ity, at will. Reverse discrimination is openly supported by the government and property rights are being steadily wiped out. We were forced out of Korea and Vietnam by pressure of the world gov ernmentalists who had already used pres sure to prevent our winning those con flicts. This was not the will of the majority of Americans, and resulted in the loss of our position of world leadership when we shamefully sold out. Now we are being propagandized that we must give up our canal in Panama, turn our backs on our close friends and allies in Taiwan, and allow the Chinese Com munists to overwhelm them. This must not be! Our government is dedicated to the forcing of citizens of South Africa to accept defeat in their heroic struggle to develop an advanced culture. This would turn them over to other Idi Amins and the re sultant savagery and inhuman cruelty that we condone while supporting Uganda economically. How hypocritical can we be? Get involved immediately and demand that our government adheres to majority Editor: As you read this, you will feel at first this is a typical letter promoting A&M spirit and tradition. Well, sir, it damn sure is. This letter is pointed to all the so-called Aggies at the Arkansas game who felt their worries were above those of the A&M Football team. They played their hearts out to win, and the hearts of many people were broken at the end. The team made mistakes, but many spectators had made worse. At the game’s end, people wearing ma roon and other A&M insignia left during the yells. This was expected, but then many continued to walk-out during the school song. Sure, we were tired and dis appointed, but what about the football team? Those guys played and then had to sit in their dressing room and contemplate what happened. Could not we have given a little more of ourselves at the end, or do many students feel that A&M is not that important? I have a lot of my own personal worries, but so does every one else. A&M is not your typical university, we have never been beaten, we should never give up, and many of you should leave!! —Tom Abbott A&M graduate student and graduate of Texas Tech P.S.: Mr. Editor, I am not going to re quest that you print this next line, but please understand: I played football at Texas Tech, I did not quit, and I very much know what it is like to lose a close one in front of many people. It hurts a lot. Slouch by Jim Earle Hep /s-i7 “WE RE ON A VERGE OF A NEW TRADITION IN ADDITION TO KISSING YOUR DATE WHEN THE AGGIES SCORE. MY DATE SLUGS ME WHEN THE OTHER TEAM SCORES!” Top of the News Campus Thanksgiving service scheduled Student Y Thanksgiving services are planned for Wednesday in Texas A&M University’s All Faith’s Chapel at 8 p.m. The reguki fellowship service of the Student Y will be conducted by student and will feature Dr. Ned Walton as speaker. He is an assistant dean intlie College of Engineering and associate professor of civil engineering Students and others are invited to the service. Applications open for editorship Applications for editor of the Battalion will be accepted by Student Publications Board beginning November 15. November! at 5 p.m. is the deadline. The Battalion editor will serve during spring semester 1978. A list of qualification requirements and appli cation forms are available at the the Student Publications Office, 218 Reed McDonald Building. Completed forms should be returnedto the same office. State Lawyers rest in Davis trial Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the T. Cullen Davis murder trial in Amarillo rested Monday and the presiding judge said closing arguments would be heard Wednesday, sending Texas’ longest mur der trial to the jury. “The testimony that you’ve heard thus far is the testimony upon which you will decide the guilt or innocence of the defendant, ’’ District Judge George E. Dowlen told the jury. He said closing arguments for each side would be limited to three and one half hours. Prosecutor Joe Shannon Jr., one of two Tarrant Count) prosecutors who will participate in closing arguments for the state, said, “This whole thing has got to come to an end sometime. I n to get to the end.” Delay denied in Hughes case Sigma writer for t p.m.. 350 V Texas Sti Gallic Smitl 206 N p.m., ■ Venezuel ezuelan c "Functions 7 p.m., 308 Recreatk tion on M p.m., "164 1 Class of " live Help S the Society p.m., 1211 El Paso pictures, 7: V Fen Uniter WASH IN rumen are ith men, i tqual work. Klux Kl lestroy the The Nati nee openin tot planned ween the mild turn i About 2C vill witness -million neeting—tl ts kind. Only 2,0 ptes eligibl ilatform of \ ibortion, 1 iqual High But man; we leader terial Wiz ■xpect a ct our-day m he non-de Some fear ' Women' lominate tl Probate Judge Pat Gregory Monday in Houston refused to delay i any further a trial to determine the legal residence of the late Howard! Hughes and ordered jury selection to begin. A panel of six will even-} tually decide if Hughes, who was born and buried in Houston, wasa legal resident of the state when he died April 5, 1976, during an ] emergency medical flight from Acapulco, Mexico, to Methodist Hos pital. Texas Attorney General John Hill voiced objections to i motions seeking to delay the lawsuit. Texas stands to gain an esimated j $300 million in inheritance taxes if the state is declared Hughes’1 _ residence. Hill’s staff has spent an estimated $225,000 and countless | man-hours, as well as traveled thousands of miles in pursuit of evi dence in the case. The states of Nevada and California are also seek ] ing to prove themselves Hughes’ home state. Doze mush from. Also , Nation tique Carter unveils compromise President Carter today unveiled a compromise to the] Humphrey-Hawkins full employment bill establishing the “amblff ous...very difficult national goal of reducing unemployment fromi percent to 4 percent by 1983. The bill establishes a framework for I economic policymaking requiring the president to submit to Con-[ gress his five-year projection of goals for employment, unemploy ment, production, and income. The president’s first report to Con-, gress would require him to set a goal for reducing unemployment by] 1983 to 4 percent for all workers over age 16 and 3 percent for those over age 20. Unemployment has fallen 2 percent since the recession] peak of 9 percent in May ‘75, and administration officials now con cede their original projections for 6.6 percent joblessness by the end of 1977 were too optimistic. Some 7 million persons are currently I unemployed, although the economy has generated about 3.5 million] jobs over the past year. World British troops become firefighten British troops swung into their new emergency role of firefighters | Monday in London when nearly 35,000 members of the nation’s fire J brigades went on their first strike. Two of the soldiers were overcome i by smoke while battling a blaze in Birmingham where fire broke out i on the fifth floor of an apartment block. The flames were extinguished i after 40 minutes. There were no other injuries. 42 killed in Manila hotel fire Fire raged through the seven-story tourist hotel across the street; from the U.S. Embassy in Manila Monday at the height of Typhoon j Kim, killing more than 40 people, including at least one American. Police said the typhoon’s winds hampered rescue efforts and whipped the fire out of control. The fire apparently was sparked by faulty; electrical wiring. Phillippine National Red Cross Headquarters put the the number of dead in the fire at 42 with 13 others injured. Weather Partly cloudy and mild today and tomorrow with south erly winds 7-12 mph. High both days mid-70s. Low to night high 50s. 30 percent chance of rain. The 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 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 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 Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday periods and the summer, when it is published on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester, $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates fur nished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas ^ United Press International is entitled exclusively use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited I®! Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein re^jj Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Jamie AW Managing Editor Mary Alice WoodbB Editorial Director Lee Roy Lcschpt® Sports Editor Paid A*j News Editors Marie Homeyer, Carol City Editor Rusty fa* J Campus Editor KimOT Copy Editor Beth C*M| Reporters Glenna VVWli Liz Newlin, David Boggan, Mark Palttf^ Photographer Ken H«