Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1978)
Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Wednesday January 18, 1978 Teague’s retirement expected, but sad It was as expected as it was inevitable. But it is still sad. Illness and age have forced Olin Teague to not seek re-election this spring. For the first time in 31 years, the U.S. Representative for the Sixth Congressional District of Texas will not be “Tiger” Teague. And that is sad. there have been bad times, particularly in the last two years. It began with his last campaign in 1976. Repub lican candidate Wes Mowery bought a daily radio spot to broadcast a program portraying Teague as a “tired, sick old man” who couldn’t do his job. Certainly Teague was having health problems. And like the rest of us he wasn’t getting any younger. But he was never incompetent. Teague went to Washington just after World War II, a military man determined to succeed in two areas. The first was to help establish programs for fel low veterans. The second was to bring federal Then came the final insult. On-campus voting at Texas A&M went against Teague, giving Mowery almost 70 percent of the student vote. It had to hurt even a veteran campaigner like Teague. financial aid to his alma mater, a small military school in central Texas, then known as the Ag ricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. He did succeed. In later years, he was honored by his univer sity. He is one of Texas A&M’s most honored graduates, with a building named after him. But Names like Huberty Humphrey, Mike Man sfield, and Nelson Rockefeller are slowly disap pearing. It is a new time with new names. And a new president. Teague sees this. He knows it is time. Somehow Teague has managed to stay out of the dogfight for his vacant seat. Candidates Don McNiel, Ron Godbey, Phil Gramm, Kay Jones and Chet Edwards began slinging mud at one another long before Teague officially announced he is retiring. Now that it’s all official, the slime will fly faster than ever. A Teague endorsement could hand the Demo cratic nomination to any one of them. But he doesn’t want to get involved. Who can blame him? For Teague has never been one to engage in the dirtier aspects of politics. Oh, he’s pulled a few tricks. Like a campaign brochure titled “Re port from Washington” which looked so official many voters thought it was a government publica tion. But he has never engaged in the dirty politics so often used against him and which is now being used in this recent campaign for office. Olin Teague is a good man who did a good job. Nothing else need be said. R.C. Business-like Japanese do fool around By Atsuko Chiba International Writers Service TOKYO — At a glance, Tokyo looks like one of the most permissive cities in the world. Its streets are filled with girlie bars, massage parlors and pornography shops, and even prime-time commercial televi sion shows feature nudity. A closer look reveals, however, that women dress modestly and the Japanese never kiss in public. Sex in Japan, therefore, is a matter of contrasts: feudal in some respects, liberal in others. Most Japanese who abide by tradition expect women to respect restrictions. Thus, young girls who have premarital sexual relations — and the majority do — would never admit to them openly. In ar ranged marriages, a claim to virginity is an asset for the bride, but not for the groom. Once graduated from college, young Japanese conform quickly. Just as they cut their hair, get rid of their blue jeans, quit radical political movements and seek jobs in big corporations, so they break ties with their college boyfriends or girlfriends and search for a spouse who measures up to their social position and pleases their par ents. As for extramarital sexual experiences, * POLITICS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. I SHOT AIL THESE STRICTLY ON THE BASIS OF MERIT.' Japanese men have the advantage. Brothels have been banned since 1956, but they have been replaced here, as in many other countries, by massage parlors and licentious cafes known as “pink bars,” which are often patronized by men after work. There are many of these places, and men can frequent them openly. Women, on the other hand, surreptitiously go to a relatively new kind of spot called “host clubs,” where they can go and be served drinks by handsome young “hosts.” These men are available, at the price, for sexual purposes. But where? Japan has thousands of special motels for transients that are not formal hotels or inns. They advertise their decor as “sen sual,” and they are not only patronized by unwed couples. Because of the serious housing problem here, many married couples also use them to get away from their cramped apartments for a bit of pri vacy. Since it is expensive for women to slip away to one of these motels with a “host,” many have their extramarital relationship promiscuously with cabdrivers and door- to-door salesmen. Increasing numbers of housewives are part-time prostitutes. Much of this frustration stems from the fact that Japanese men, particularly am bitious ones, spend long hours in their of fices and also conduct their business after-hours in bars, leaving their wives alone with nothing but the television set. Alcoholism is reportedly on the increase among housewives. ^part from the blatant permissiveness of Tokyo and other cities, however, Japanese attitudes toward sex have really not changed much over the centuries. In sex as in other matters, the Japanese are now, as they have always been, a progressive people under a conservative veneer. Metric militants prepare resistance By DICK WEST United Press International WASHINGTON — Practically every magazine you pick up nowadays has an ar ticle about young people being turned off because there aren’t any noble causes left. This is nonsense. Meet Lancelot Churchill Firkin, metric fighter. That isn’t his real name. Firkin doesn’t The Tighter side want his true identity known for fear the metric resistance movement may one day have to go underground. At the moment, that fear appears groundless. Opposition to the metric sys tem is steadily growing. Plans to convert highway signs, weather reports and fish and poultry labels to metric designations have been at least temporarily shelved due to public protests. Firkin was active in each of those cam paigns, but he warns the time may come when anti-metric zeal will subside, leaving only a hard core of militants to carry on the struggle. That is the day he is preparing for. After secret negotiations, I arranged a dramatic interview with Firkin in an un derground parking garage. His caution was dictated by suspicion that I might be an agent from the National Bureau of Standards, which has charge of the metric conversion program. As I entered the garage, a bodyguard stepped from the shadows and patted me down to make certain I was not carrying any concealed centimeters. “How significant is the metric resistance movement? I asked when I finally con tacted Firkin behind one of the concrete pillars that garage attendants use for fender-denting practice. “We regard it as the moral equivalent of an energy crisis,” came his tight-lipped reply. “We shall defend every quart, every pound and every bushel. We shall fight to the last inch, ounce and pint. We shall never surrender. ” Although reluctant to reveal his strategy, lest it give aid and comfort to the converters. Firkin confided that his main mission would be to maintain high morale among those fighting to keep the English system of weights and measures alive. “We anticipate a type of psychological warfare,” he said. “Tbis likely will include acts of defiance — civil disobedience, if you will — to prove our dedication to the “If the weather service switches to the Celsius scale, we intend to acquire an un listed telephone number which people can call to get the temperature in Fahrenheit. “If they change highway signs to kilometers, we ll fight them with CB radios broadcasting the distances in miles.” Nor did Frikin rule out terrorism. If the Agriculture Department approves metric labels for poultry, the underground plans to hijack a kilogrammed fried chicken and hold it for ransom. Tetters to the editor Wise remarks the product of a chronic expert Editor: After reading Ronnie Wise’s letter, or should I say critique, of the Battalion, I feel inspired to finally write a letter in re sponse to you, the editor. I’ve known Ronnie since high school and have always been amazed with his unique journalism style. He seems to give the bad side of everything and the Batt is no exception to his rule. (^Writing the editor The Battalion welcomes let ters to the editor on any subject. However, to be acceptable for publication these letters must meet certain criteria. They should: V Not exceed 300 words or 1800 characters in length. V Be neatly typed whenever possible. Hand-written letters are acceptable. V Include the author’s name, address and telephone number for verification. Names will be withheld only in extreme cir cumstances. Letters to the editor are printed as a service to our readers. Publication of a letter is mbvuj guarnateed. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit let ters to remove grammatical er rors and to avoid litigation. Address letters to the editor to: Letters to the Editor The Battalion Room 216 Reed McDonald Building College Station, Texas 77843 ^ I’ll be the first to admit some of your articles might have been tasteless at times and lacking in professional manner, but after all this is the Battalion, a college newspaper, with a limited number of staff, not the New York Times. I have always looked forward to reading the Batt because of the editorial page, the letters to the editor, and yes, some of the tasteless articles of “Paul Cosell Arnett, that’s what makes the Batt fun to read. I just wonder where Ronnie in all of his 19 years of living gained so much knowl edge about newspapers and journalism. Perhaps he bases his vast experience on the letters he’s written to the editor or on his high school experiences. In any case I don’t feel he is qualified to cut down everybody else’s writings because he is no expert. If Ronnie would take a few journalism courses and try writing for the Batt for a semester he might learn a few things (but then he’s lived for 19 years and probably knows everything by now anyway). Ronnie Wise is entitled to his own opinion and is free to send that opinion to the Battalion; I too am entitled to my opinion and it’s this: “Ronnie, you are a nice guy and a good friend but you are no journalist so give it U P- ’ —Robert C. Emmitt Slouch by Jim Earle No tears shed Editor: To Paul Arnett concerning his article “Not all fun and games: I quote the im mortal Super Chicken, “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred — cackle. ” —George Welch, ‘79 “NO MATTER HOW MANY CLOTHES I PUT ON, I CAN’T SEEM TO GET WARM!’’ Top of the Newj Campus A&M farm worker dies William F. Hill, farm worker at Texas A&M University, died Tuesday of a heart attack. Hill, 61, was working at the Horse Cente: south of the main campus. He died apparently enroute to a locill hospital by ambulance. The animal science department employee had worked at the Animal Industries Building for the university sin« 1951. Capitol internships available ASH I te cr es t 1-aid basic rol of Sen. John Tower (R-Tex) announced recently that applications are being accepted in his office for the annual summer internship pro gram for college students. Summer intern programs, bring enterpris ing students into the nation’s capitol for three months of first-hand ttem experience. pi,” Prospective applicants for the program are required to be legal la Texas residents and should submit to the senator a personal resume Ided and a letter explaining interests and the reasons why they want to epan become an intern in Washington. Applications are available from the ely. Senator’s Washington office at 142 Russell Senate Office Building, a Washington, D.C., 20510. Completed aplications should be re-Unt ceived in Washington by March 1, announced by mid-April, 1978. 1978, and selections will be |e fcntet essio test State mitt Fish dm< Lopez withdraws from race Ricardo Lopez withdrew from the governor’s race as an indepen dent candidate Tuesday and accused his former opponents of not discussing the real campaign issue — the family. "I have made this decision considering my resources at the present time and the fact that I originally assumed 1 had a constituency and found today that 1 do not have a constituency,” Lopez told capitol reporters in Austin. Lopez said he did not have any petitions to file with the Secretary of State’s office which requires independent candidates to have signa tures of one percent of the entire vote cast for governor in the state during the last general election. He would have had to file at least 16,549 names to run for governor this year. le sed hi ASF b ed ver Connolly criticizes Carter Pos Former Treasury Secretary John B. Connally, avoiding questions about his political ambitions, Tuesday said President Carter had been incompetent and accused Congress of covering up a scandal. Con nally said in Detroit that the nation’s economy and the dollar were suffering from a lack of confidence in Carter — both in the United States and overseas. He predicted continued problems, including a fall of the Dow Jones stock average to 650, unless opinions change. He supported proposals for a general tax cut but said Carter’s first proposals including an end to home interest deductions, would have been disasterous. lar ce: i 1 Tugboat crewman still lost Searchers Monday were unable to find a tugboat crewman who fell overboard in the collision of two vessels at the Exxon Co. USA refin ery dock in Baytown. A Coast Guard spokesman, who withheld the man’s name, said the collision occurred about 10 a.m. as the tug Mars was trying to dock the S.S. Barcelona. The Barcelona collided with another ship. B World South African students protest b In a massive anti-government protest against segregated schooling, thousands of black students today boycotted the first day of 1978 classes in the segregated Soweto township outside Johannesburg, South Africa. Fewer than half the sprawling black township’s 130,000 junior school pupils showed up, defying government appeals for an end to boycotts which began on a large scale last year in protest against superior conditions and different syllabuses in white schools. South Africa’s largest circulation daily, the Johannesburg Star, re ported police slapped and punched youths and dragged them from houses and chased others in armored vehicles. One youth reportedly was arrested, the report said. Egypt/Israel begin new talks Egypt and Israel yesterday began a new round of peace talks with the United States serving as mediator between the two countries who appeared far apart on the issues of Israeli withdrawal from occupied Arab lands and Palestinian homeland. Later Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan said there was no question that differences existed between the Israeli and Egyptian positions, but said there was no deadlock. In Cairo, a pessimistic President Anwar Sadat ordered a “minute-by-minute” assessment of the talks and said he was ready for “appropriate and necessary decisions” on short notice. Weather Cloudy and cold with rain today. Freezing rain likely this morning and tonight. High today in the low 40’s. Low tonight in the low 30’s. Winds out of the East-North East at 10-15 mph. Partly cloudy and cold Thursday and Friday, with a chance of rain again on Saturday. 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. Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas United Press International is entitled exclusively tot^ use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited t<bj Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein resent Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77f$ 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 hir- nished on request. Address: The Battalion. Room 216. MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor j ain ie Ait^ Managing Editor Mary Alice WootH# 1 Sports Editor Paul Antf 11 News Editors Marie Homeyer, Carol Me)* 1 Assistant Managing Editor Glenna Wliitfc City Editor Rusty Cawlfl Campus Editor Kim T)** Reporters Liz Newlin, iW Boggan, Mark Patten* Lee Roy Leschper Jr., Gary Welch, Karen B(# Photographers Susan Webb, David Kei? Cartoonist Doug Cnhl* Student Publications Board. Bob C. Rogers, C/uiirw" foe Arredondo; Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. John W. HmM. Robert Harvey; Dr. Charles McCandless; Dr. Clintml Phillips; Rebel Rice. Director of Student PtiblicaiiiV Donald C. Johnson.