Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Wednesday December 7, 1977 Rusty Cawley Looking for the roots of an evil tree First, society must seek to prevent crime before it happens - war on poverty, in adequate housing, unemployment is war in the local neighborhood and on the city street.” —Richard Nixon during his 1968 presidential campaign on crime. -President Lyndon Johnson on signing an omnibus anti-crime bill, 1968. -introduction from 1967 report. Presidents Commission on Crime New York: It would have been her wedding day. Instead, it was a day of mourning for the family, friends and fiance of Sue Lan Leung. She was working as a cashier at the China Cafe three days before when a trio of robbers held her at gunpoint. One ordered her to open the cash register. She hesitated. He shot her to death. Houston: The family and friends of a local engineering consultant are trying to figure out who would plant a bomb in his car. So are Harris County sheriffs dep uties. James Earthman, 61, survived the explosion that destroyed his car. He re ceived minor cuts and bruises, but was admitted to a hospital for observation. “He’s the last guy in the world you’d ex pect this would happen to,” said the pastor of his church. Still, deputies are investigat ing his business activities for a lead. Dallas: The man accused of being the “friendly rapist,” believed responsible for as many as 75 rapes in North Dallas apartment complexes, entered a surprise plea-bargaining agreement. He pleaded guilty to seven counts of burglary. He was sentenced to seven 60-year sentences to run concurrently. He will be eligible for parole in 11 years. accused murderers are members of a gang. The oldest is 18, the youngest is 14. All come from middle-class families. They did it, they told police, to prove their courage to fellow gang members. There are many other areas of domestic policy, housing, health, crime, education, agriculture and others - that will concern me as president, but which I do not have time to discuss tonight. I would like to point out that in 1975, compared to 1974, the crime rate went from a 17 percent increase to a 9 percent increase. So we have made progress.” President Jimmy Carter, outlining administration policies during his first Fireside Chat, 1977 “1 sign this bill because it responds to one of the most urgent problems in America today — the problem of fighting crime I say that doubling the conviction rate in this country would do far more to cure crime in America than quadrupling the funds for the war on poverty.” President Gerald Ford during 1976 campaign The quotations span a decade. The crimes have occurred in the past week. Miami: A postal worker was strangled and beaten to death, his body dumped in a canal and his car stolen for a joyride. His City Editor Rusty Cawley writes a weekly column on local affairs, government and politics. Carter may ‘shape justice for generation’ By IRA A. ALLEN United Press International WASHINGTON — President Carter will have a chance to “shape the face of justice for a generation when Congress delivers him next year one of the fruits of his election victory — a political plum dangling almost 150 new federal judge- ships. But within that gift lies a potential con flict between the prerogative of senators to control the nomination of federal judges Washington window and prosecutors in their states and Carter’s 1976 campaign promise that “all federal judges and prosecutors should be ap pointed strictly on the basis of merit with out any consideration of political aspect or influence. There is little question about the need to expand the courts or the need to have qualified judges fill the new positions. The question is how many judges are needed and how they will be appointed. Senate Republican Leader Howard Baker wryly notes the tendency “to spawn new judges in Democratic adminis trations, although the last time the judiciary was expanded was in 1970, under Richard Nixon. Ironically, it was the Watergate affair and the impeachment hearings that kept Congress from getting around to the court expansion bill in 1973, 1974 and 1975 and, “Once into the election year (1976) then politics may have been a factor,” explains a knowledgeable Senate source. What he meant was the Democratic majority was in no mood to let a Republi can president fill all those judgeships — more than have ever been available be fore. It waited until this year, with a Dem ocrat in the White House, to start moving. The Senate bill adds 35 new circuit court judges and 113 district judges. The House Judiciary Committee has approved 110 district judges, and the House will act on the bill early next year. The House version came, out of sub committee with 81 district judges, but members of the full committee kept add ing positions, singing “Hearts and Flow ers” renditions of enormous court backlogs in their states and the “hard working” na ture of the judges. Rep. Jack Brooks, D-Tex., the second- ranking Democrat on the committee, called it “one of the best classic examples of log-rolling. The House committee bill, unlike the Senate’s calls on Carter to fill the slots it creates strictly on merit. It sets up mechanics for independent selection panels like those already in use by senators from 13 states. The House committee re fused to go along with the Senate provision to carve a new circuit court from the sprawling 5th Circuit that covers Dixie. Sponsors of the nonbinding merit amendment say it is designed to help Car ter fulfill his pledge. “His selections will shape the face of jus tice for a generation, said Reps. Romano Mazzoli, D-Ky., John Seiberling, D-Ohio, and Robert McClory, R-Ill. “Merit selec tion of federal judges is especially impor tant because federal judges are appointed for life.” Opponents of the move contend the current system of patronage — theoreti cally checked by the Senate confirmation process — has worked well; most sitting judges, including Supreme Court justices, came from political ranks and are also highly qualified. Naming judges “is a political problem and one for which the president should be held politically accountable,” says Rep. Charles Wiggins, R-Calif. Carter has already set up independent panels to give him a pool of five qualified people for each circuit court vacancy. But he kept the district courts in the political realm. So far. Carter has named 10 circuit judges and 21 district judges — all of them Deomocrats, some of them cronies of Democratic members of Congress. He has fired two crusading Republican U.S. at torneys, and all of the 56 prosecutors he has named, all but one have been Demo crats. Chances of the Senate adopting the merit provision next year are dim, con gressional sources say, although the trend by senators on their own is toward biparti san nominating panels. In a way, the Senate’s political instincts might lead it toward the merit language without much pushing because, as the conventional wisdom goes, every time a senator makes a patronage appointment he creates 99 enemies and one ingrate. Every man’s idea of panic Bv BILL WILSON It has started. Every semester, as the term papers and “major projects” start flowing in, with mine among the last of them, I get a funny feeling inside. The feeling is a cross between fear and shock. It’s a bit like knowing my job is to Reader s forum tackle George Woodard. But that’s not it exactly. Maybe it’s like knowing Big George is going to tackle me. I become amazed at how fast the semes ter has gone by. I am especially amazed at how fast the semester went by me. Usually it’s about this time that I start making unreasonable promises. “God, I promise if you help me through this semester I’ll study 40 hours a week next time. “Listen Judy, lend me your notes and I promise I’ll take you out in my dad’s Porsche. No? O. K. I’ll give it to you, just teach me calculus.” It is also about this time that teacher’s start to change their syllabi. A case in point: One teacher changed the last as signment from “name and describe three causes of Infinity” to “list the sum total knowledge of the Universe.” That really hacked me off because I already had one of the causes of Infinity done. The thing that gets me the most is “Fi nals.” What an appropriate name. But I don’t like the word “Exam” much. It sounds like the prof is going to perform a lobotomy. “Finalis comprehensivus majoris examinus fatum” is a Latin term to describe the corpse of a student who died during finals. There is also a corollary to one of Mur phy’s Laws that says something like “mechanical devices will save all of their problems until the weekend before dead week.” For those of you who do not have the “funny feeling” yet, just wait. As some body destine to remain obscure once said, “It’s not too late to panic.” Wilson is a sophomore journalism major. Letters to the editor They shoot students—don’t they? Editor: In response to the editor’s note to the effect that the campus police have never drawn/fired their weapons (Battalion, Dec. 2), it can be said that this is categori cally not the case. Last fall (Sept. 19), while pursuing the undersigned a campus police officet did draw and fire his weapon. This is not to suggest that he fired directly at us; but, he did draw and fire - this to negate your ear lier statement. Perhaps a talk with Chief Luther about the actions of two of his former charges will substantiate this. — Mike Zilich, Brian Perry, Tom Henry Editor’s note: Well, gentlemen, we did check with University Police Chief Luther and he does not remember things as you do. As you said, an officer no longer with the University police was accused of firing his weapon - but that charge was denied by the officer and never verified. Luther said that in the incident stu dents were firing firecrackers on campus and it was theorized that a firecracker was mistaken for a pistol shot. The officer involved in the incident left the Univer sity force for reasons not connected with that incident. To repeat: No University Police officer has ever drawn or fired his weapon on duty. Chief Luther did sub stantiate that statement. newspaper’s job to guess what a person really has in mind when they’re inter viewed, only to report what was said. £ 2Vo one to blame 7 Slouch by Jim Earle In his own words Editor: I have been pretty happy with the Bat talion this year; the improvement over last year is phenomenal.*However, yesterday’s headline for Saturday’s game was inexcus able. MOSLEY’S A HERO...WALKER’S HUMILIATED. My, my, it seems like only yesterday that the whole school was applauding as one David Walker rescued the team last year; how soon we forget, or perhaps I should say the Battalion. In the first place, your headline was mis leading, as if Walker had botched things up royally and in comes Mosley to save the day. You did, of course, clear things up in the article when you quoted David as say ing he “felt humiliated. ” Well, what he felt and what most of the fans thought are two different things. You took advantage of one of our own when he was obviously down in the dumps. Come on, Battalion, knock off the cheap shots; this is Aggieland. Quit trying to be like The Washington Post, because in Monday’s issue you looked more like a cheap movie magazine trying to sell off a headline. Stan Teague, ’79 “WHAT A RELIEF TO FINISH MY LAST REGULAR GAME! I WAS SURE THEY’D FIND OUT RY NOW THAT I CAN’T PLAY AN INSTRUMENT!” Editor’s note: As you point out Mr. Teague, Walker himself said he felt humiliated. That statement was his, not ours. The headline merely stated Walker’s own remarks, which were un- doubtably newsworthy. It is not the Editor: Re: “Walker’s Humiliated” (Battalion, Dec. 5). First of all we would like to con gratulate the Aggie football team and coaching staff for a fine game Saturday af ternoon. We don’t mean to say that we didn’t support the A&M team before the Saturday’s game with Houston. But we do think it was the first time this season that decisions made by Coach Bellard and the team showed us just what the team can really do. By no means do we mean to cut down the performance of David Walker. What shocked us was Walker’s selfish attitude toward the team. We thought team sports were designed to allow competing against an opponent and not against each other. They should emphasize group effort. David Walker played football all season. He performed according to his ability. He should have no reason to feel humiliated in front of the fans or on national television, unless he is perhaps dissatisfied with his own performance. And for that no one is to blame but himself. Comments like “I’m a senior, one of last year’s co-captains, and he’s got three more years and I don’t,” sound extremely selfish and don’t have a damn thing to do with playing football. Our idea of playing football is putting your best people on the field and showing everyone what you can do. And speaking of what you can do, pass ing for six of six shows exactly what we’ve known the Aggies could do all along. We weren’t sure whether or not it was due to a lack of skill of the team (not just Walker),or if it was because the coaches thought we were a better running team. But one thing for sure - the Aggies showed us Saturday that they can pass and we hope to see more of it in the Bluebonnet Bowl. — Dave Lee Williams, ’77 Jim McFarlen, ’78 Top of the Campus Campus directories available Texas A&M University Campus Directories are now available in Room 216 of the Reed McDonald Building. When picking up the directories, students must present fee slips to show proof of purchase. If fee slips have been lost, they can be replaced at the fiscal office in the Coke Building. Aggieland distribution has also been moved to Room 216, Reed McDonald. Students picking up yearbooks need their Texas A&M identification card or their driver’s license. Leadership seminars in spring Students who plan to hold leadership positions in recognized stu dent organizations next semester or next year are invited to apply to attend a series of leadership seminars which will be offered in the spring semester. The program is designed to give students insight into the administrative management of Texas A&M University and to meet various administrators. The seminars will meet all semester regularly on Thursdays from 3:30-5 p.m. The seminars are non-credit and require no outside assignments. Interested students may apply at the Students Activities Office, 845-1134. The program will be limited to 25 students. State State employees will not have to pay income taxes on meal and lodging allowances, Texas Comptroller Bob Bullock said Monday in Austin. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court required New Jersey state troopers to pay income taxes on meal allowances, the situation in Texas is different, Bullock said. In New Jersey the allowance is considered a part of the employees’ salaries. Bullock explained that the allowance in Texas is for expenses incurred and is not considered a part of the salaries for any purposes. No review of McCarthy decision Former Sen. Eugene McCarthy challenged a Texas law last year when he was denied a place on the 1976 presidential election ballot. The law permitted only candidates of organized political parties to be on the ballot and McCarthy campaigned as an independent. McCar thy filed suit against Texas and a series of court decisions found the law unconstitutional, yet no order was given to place McCarthy’s name on the ballot. Monday the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the series of decisions made by the lower courts. Officials in the secretary of state’s office in Austin said the law has been rewritten so that the points challenged by McCarthy have been resolved. Frozen eagle given as evidence Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Jahn introduced Tuesday in San An tonio into evidence the frozen carcass of a federally protected golden eagle allegedly shot from a helicopter in January 1976. The eagle was among at least 70 of the birds the government alleges were killed illegally in a two-year conspiracy in Real County. Bell to appeal to higher court State District Court Judge Peter Michael Curry in San Antono rejected Southwestern Bell’s motion for a new trial in a libel-slander suit. Bell attorneys said that the jury reached a verdict in violation of the court’s instruction. The attorneys said they would continue to appeal the decision to higher courts. Nation Violators can be asked out of car The six-man majority of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington decided Monday a policeman who stops a motorist for a traffic viola tion may routinely order him out of the car. Three of the court Justices critized the decision, saying the ruling eliminated “any re quirement that an officer be able to explain the reasons for his actions ... and leaves police discretion utterly without limits.” The dissenters feared that the ruling would leave the impression that the court is more interested in upholding the power of the state than individual rights. Truman s sister suffers stroke Mary Jane Truman, the only sister of the late President Harry S. Truman, was in serious condition Tuesday at a hospital in Kansas City, Mo., where she was admitted following a stroke. Truman, 88, was initially listed in critical condition after she was admitted Monday to Reseach Medical Center. She has been in and out of the hospital since 1960 when she underwent a gall bladder operation. World Begin s meetings delayed Prime Minister Menahem Begin of Israel was stricken with pains and vomiting Tuesday in London and canceled all his appointments. Begin has a history of heart attacks but a spokesman said there was no reason to believe his ailment was anything more serious than an upset stomach. About 100 members of Parliament belonging to the British Parliamentarian Friends of Israel group were waiting in the lobby of Begin s hotel for a meeting with him when his staff sent word he would be unable to see them. Weather Partly cloudy and warmer today and tomorrow with light and variable winds changing to southeasterly 10-15 mph. High today mid-60s. Low tonight mid-40s. High tomorrow low 70s. No rain. The Battalion on Employees allowance not taxable wash >urt rut ay n0 ^ niority jdbirtl y durir fjly ille The oi ihnqub ora Sa snn.) C mater ;k pay- When: ittom o Anoth chmon is retur it Con oceedii Under ploye< m-occu juld ha iy and dding : nploye< Rehnq rent frc iccase, ■egnanc ivate e ice pro: The o] as no si forded omen. “Here juist S£ erely r benefit iceive 1 Usubstar >t suflfe Rehnc ights A iminati )t “per male e ideprh jrtuniti it role. But hr ecessa alicies: partita [ pregi ot viol omen i As for id the stingu: Ise. But h iat eve eld th •egnan :signei scrimi ae sex Rehm ai ier or Texas comn lanned ty Cen The i iroling ason’s arvis I lessage ae A hurch. “Hop ell as a the si ampus Comm ated in tame th In cas ervice lemon L0C proi B Quar nd pri: •ty, ha rant fi ll of Li Engl •ublish he aw; his yea year ; Func ssue of ouble anuary Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those t >f the editor or of the writer