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The Battalion Thursday
Texas A&M University January 19, 1978
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Big Brother sends
Even as the government’s popular human rights campaign is opening the closet
door for Americans whose personal preferences were heretofor deemed detrimental
to society, that same government is driving into hiding millions of Americans
engaged in a centuries-old habit. Smoking.
Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano Jr. last week declared
war on smoking, and set up another (yes, another) branch of HEW, called the OflEice
on Smoking and Health, to coordinate the fed’s smoking research and information
service.
Califano made his mark on America’s bureaucracy on the 14th anniversary of the
famous surgeon-general’s report on smoking and health — the one 54 million Ameri
cans have at their fingertips that says, “Warning: The Surgeon General Has Deter
mined that Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to Your Health.”
Cigarette smoking and its potential for causing cancer is no laughing matter. It
does warrant some degree of governmental imposition to advise the public of what it
is getting into when it spends its billions every year on cigarettes.
But Califano’s announcement last week has broken the uneasy peace that the
American public has held with its cautioning government.
There appear to be two implications of Califano’s anti-smoking drive: that of gov
ernment’s notorious alter-ego. Big Brother; and the aspect of governmental waste
when it wants to be on a winning side despite the odds against it.
As for the latter, the tobacco industry does about $14 billion a year in business. Its
advertising and promotional expenditures alone amount to more than $400 million a
year. Califano plans to wipe out smoking by increasing the governmental anti
smoking budget from $1 million a year to $6 million a year. Big bark, no bite.
Even proponents of the anti-smoking drive doubt that far-reaching effects can be
purchased with such a meager amount. As one health activist said, “Califano thinks
he’s going to throw $1 million or $2 million a year into anti-smoking programs and
he’s going to beat them. There’s no way.”
The tobacco industry is as formidable in lawmaking circles as it is in the economy.
Califano’s attempts to legislate cigarette smoking further will meet a stone wall in
Congress. There’s just too much money and politics riding on tobacco.
Even as HEW is gearing up for its anti-smoking fight, the Carter administration
continues to subsidize the tobacco industry with price supports. According to presi
dential press secretary Jody Powell, the administration does not feel that families and
communities dependent on tobacco-growing “should bear the burden of economic
ruin” because of efforts to discourage a national habit.
cigarettes packin’
It is clear that you can’t feed and starve the tobacco industry at the same time and
expect substantial results. The waste of government funds trying to fool the public
into thinking otherwise is saddening.
Finally, smokers and non-smokers alike are being cheated by such Big Brother
intrusions. Once again, government has gone too far under the banner of citizen
protection. To protect some it alienates others — even to the extent of unduly
denying them of their personal preferences. As one U.S. senator has said, “Obviously
some restrictions should be placed on where people smoke, but smokers should not
be treated as second-class citizens and their rights should be respected.”
In effect, as another Congressman has said, “The idea of increased regulation —
more rules telling free Americans what they can and cannot do — has no merit
whatsoever.” /.A.
Another canal has possibilities
By DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON-Seven undecided U.S.
Senators have been poking around
Panama this week trying to crystalize their
thinking on the canal treaty issue.
One matter they should look into is the
prospect of America building a new sea
level canal across the isthmus.
With the technology that is available to
day, it seems likely we could complete
The Tighter side
such a waterway by the year 2000, which is
the date set in the treaty for Panama to
take control the existing canal.
That would be a perfect soluticm to the
treaty dispute - two Panama canals, one
owned by Panama and the other by the
United States.
This is not to say there wouldn’t be op
position to that arrangement, too. The
trouble is that under the laws of physics
water seeks its own level. Whatever that
means.
When I was in freshman physics class, I
never really understood that principle.
What other level would water seek? As I
pointed out to the professor, if water
sought the level of, say air, it would make
breathing pretty difficult. This may be
why I got a D in the course.
Water seeking its own level wouldn’t
necessarily be a problem except that sea
level on Panama’s Pacific shore is higher
than on the Atlantic coast.
When the original canal was planned,
there was some talk about making it a sea
level passage. But objections were inter
posed, based in part on fears that the
higher water in the Pacific would run
down through the canal inundating east
coast resorts.
Engineers claimed it wouldn’t happen.
Nevertheless, for a variety of reasons, the
canal was constructed with a series of locks
that raise and lower vessels from one
ocean to the other.
Revival of the sea level concept almost
certainly would revive the old drainage
fears.
If the Atlantic Ocean were higher than
the Pacific, we wouldn’t have this concern.
California, as you know, has been hit by
a severe drought. Building a sea level
canal would alleviate that condition by
covering the state with water.
It likewise would eliminate the Los
Angeles smog problem by eliminating
L.A. itself.
Meanwhile, on the east coast, advan
tages of a different sort would be accruing.
As the shoreline receded, the off-shore
oil deposits that require expensive drilling
platforms could be reached by land-based
equipment.
If a way can be found to reverse the
canal flow, it will solve the problem of
water seeking its own level. It’s a pity
some of the politicians involved in the con
troversy don’t seek their own level, too.
3
Energy and hula hoops, supply and demand
By DON PHILLIPS
United Press International
WASHINGTON-There is a basic princi
ple of economics called “the law of supply
and demand. ”
Simply stated: if the supply of a product
is high and public demand for the product
is low, then the price will fall. If supply is
low and demand is high, then prices will
rise.
That’s why hula hoops sold for 50 cents
Washington Window
after the fad disappeared, and why
diamonds cost small fortunes.
It’s also why energy is going to cost the
American consumer far more in the fu
ture.
It doesn’t matter if one believes that oil
companies are deliberately withholding
energy supplies until they get the price
they want, or that oil companies must be
guaranteed a fair profit before they risk the
Tetters to the editor
investment necessary to develop new
energy sources. The end result is the
same: you pay more.
The world is not running out of energy.
It is running out of conventional, cheap
sources of energy.
Take a look at some of the “new” sources
of energy, some of them obvious and some
a little surprising:
Coal. Hundreds of years of America’s
energy needs could be supplied by coal.
But coal must be converted to a usable
form such as synthetic oil and gas, or used
as fuel for electrical generating plants.
Sunlight. This is one of the most con
stant sources of energy, bombarding earth
continually with heat and light. But more
research is needed before sunlight could
become a significant source of usable
energy.
Geopressurized methane. Under the
surface of Louisiana and Texas, absorbed
in salt water thousands of feet deep, is
enough methane to supply America’s
natural gas pipelines for hundreds of
years. The problem is how to take the
Schedule causes problem
Editor:
I fully understand the high patient load
of the Beutel Health Center: I also feel
the doctors and nurses are doing an excel
lent job of overcoming this obstacle. My
complaint is with the schedule.
For a great many student in need or a
physician’s assistance, getting to the
health center between classes is no major
problem, but there are some of us who are
unable to make it between 8 and 4 due to
classes and/or other responsibilities.
My displeasure stems from the fact that
today (Jan. 17) I went to the health center
as soon as I was able (a
I am out of town from 7 to 4:30). When I
got to the emergency clinic, I was seen by
a nurse who took my temperature and
after checking out the problem told me
that I would either have to come during
clinic hours (missing a full day of student
teaching) or pay to see a private physician
during my lunch break if I wanted to be
seen by a doctor. AH th<=' do
was to give m i
symptoms but not ti
Now, I realize that ti»ii aeailii ser\ ice is
designed to reach as many people as pos
sible, and can not accomodate every stu
dent. Surely the administration can find a
suitable solution. After all, if its manditory
for students to pay a $15 health center fee,
the administration has more responsibility
to them than to ask them to shirk their
own responsibilities in order to be treated
for minor medical problems that require a
doctor’s attention.
Gary C. Sartor
Housing supported
Editor:
I absolutely support Jennifer Seale’s
position on the issue of married housing
and. moreover adequate housing for stu
dents in general. What is the objective of
an institution like A&M anyhow?
Is it to support and foster the learning of
young people or is it to foster and support
'he operation of private apartment owners
ne c opus? Perhaps this should
be made clear in the university charter.
R. Muchontham
methane from the water, and how to pre
vent Louisiana and Texas from sinking as
tons of water is removed.
Shale rock. Many barrels of oil are
locked in shale rock in the West, but
commercially feasible methods must be
found to extract it.
Nuclear. The power of the atom once
was though to be the answer to man’s
energy problems, but technical and
environmental problems have slowed its
growth.
Oil and gas. Most of the world’s “easy”
oil and gas have been found. But hard-to-
get-at supplies still abound.
The common thread running through all
of these energy sources is cost - high cost.
No matter what source or sources of
energy the country turns to over the next
few decades, the consumer will have to
shell out more money.
It will not matter if the government na
tionalizes oil companies or goes to the
other extreme and removes all price and
environmental controls from energy
sources. Energy will cost more.
As in any crisis there will be profiteers.
And it is the function of government to
root them out and prevent them from tak
ing advantage of the masses who must
have evergy at any price.
But the final determination of how
much Americans must pay for the energy
they use will, in the long run, be deter
mined by a simple economic principle, the
law of supply and demand.
Slouch
by Jim Earle
WE SAY NO
WITTf
“WE LL DO OUR VERY BEST TO RELIEVE YOU OF
YOUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLASSES. GIVE ME
YOUR NAME AND I’LL ADD IT TO OUR WAITING
LIST!’’
JFK probe memo ‘pure bunk 9
Former Texas Attorney General Waggoner Carr said Wednesday
an FBI analysis criticizing his 3,000-word report on the investigation
of the assassination of President John Kennedy was “pure bunk.” An
Oct. 9, 1964 memorandum from Alan Belmont, an assistant to FBI
Director J. Edgar Hoover, dismissed Carr’s report as a “self-serving
apologetic treatise” on the actions of Texas authorities following the
assassination. The memorandum was contained in FBI files released
Wednesday in Washington. Carr first called a special court of inquiry
into the Kennedy assassination, but then canceled it at the request of
the Warren Commission and instead issued the 3,000-word report
(Other JFK probe stories on page 7.)
Water dispute, back to court
A Falls County dispute between a water supply corporation and.
contractor accused of building a faulty pipeline system Wednesda
was sent back to the trial court for a third hearing. The Texas Su
preme Court, in a 7-2 decision, withdrew an earlier opinion am
ordered a new trial in Tri-County Water Supply Corp.’s damage sui
against A.F. Conner and Sons, Inc., and Fiaelity and Deposit Co.
the contractor’s bonding company. The most recent trail of the sui!
the second time the case had been argued - resulted in Conner being
ordered to pay tri-County $389,815 in damages, plus $75,282 in
interest. The Court of Civil Appeals had reduced that judgment by
$19,542, but otherwise upheld the decision.
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Farmers rally at Capitol
Several thousand farmers rallied outside the Capitol Tuesday to
launch a lobbying campaign in their strike for higher guaranteed crop
prices. A spokesman said American farmers, who began a nation-wide
strike Dec. 14, would remain on strike until they win their goal - a
law which could raise the average guaranteed price of their crops by
50 percent. Police estimated at least two thousand cheering and clap
ping farmers, undaunted by the late arrival of a tractorcade, gathered
on the west side of the Capitol. They overflowed a scheduled news
conference on the east side of the building.
College costs relief in sight
Two Republican senators urged Congress Wednesday to enact tax
relief for middle-income families struggling to send their children
through college - a proposal opposed by the administration. Sens.
William Roth, R-Del., and Richard Schweiker, R-Pa., outlined their
legislation to a Senate Finance subcommittee, the day before the
convening of the second session of the 95th Congress. In his state
ment, Roth called for a college tuition tax credit and said, “It is very
clear a vast majority in both the House and the Senate are in favor of
this approach, and I believe the tuition tax credit will be enacted into
law in 1978. ” Roth’s proposal, which would grant a $250 tax credit for
each college child, was approved by the Senate last year as a rider to
the Social Security bill. It was scuttled, however, by Senate-House
negotiators.
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Seabed treaty may he dropped
U.S. Ambassador-at-large Elliot L. Richardson said Wednesday if a
worldwide conference on seabed mining rights doesn’t produce a
treaty America likes, then the U.S. will “forego” such a treaty and
start mining the sea on its own. “We have the means at our disposal to
protect our ocean interests if the conference should fail and we shall
protect those interests if a comprehensive treaty eludes us,”
Richardson said. For the past four years, worldwide conferees to the
“Law of the Sea Conference’ have been debating procedures for
mining the rich mineral resources at the bottom of the oceans.
American and other “developed’ nations favor wide-open seabed min
ing, but some “developing” countries with rich land-based minerals
want restraints placed on seabed mineral production.
(
World
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Sadat orders delegates to return
President Anwar Sadat Tuesday ordered Foreign Minister
Mohammed Kamel, chief of the Egyptian delegation to the Jerusalem
peace talks, to return to Cairo immediately. Sadat also summoned the
Egyptain Parliament for an emergency session at 11:30 a.m. Saturday
“to reveal all aspects of the situation to the nation’s representatives,”
a goverment announcement said. In announcing the moves, the
Egyptian president charged the Israelis were trying the untrack his
push for Middle East peace.
Weather
Decreasing cloudiness and colder tonight. High today in the
mid-30’s, low tonight in the low-20’s. High tomorrow in the
low-40’s. Winds out of the North at 15-20 mph. Increasing
cloudiness and cold on Friday, turning colder with the possibil
ity of freezing rain on Saturday and Sunday.
The Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
editor or of the tvriter of the article and are not necessarily
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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.
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Jamie Ai^
Managing Editor Mary Alice Woodl^
Sports Editor Paul ^
News Editors Marie Homeyer, Carol ^
Assistant Managing Editor Glenna Wk#
City Editor Rusty Ca^
Campus Editor Kirn'll
Reporters Liz Newlin, 1>’
Boggan, Mark Patted
Lee Roy Leschper Jr., Gary Welch, Karen R#
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Fr
Si
Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogers, Chain*
Joe Arredondo; Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. John W. W
Robert Harvey; Dr. Charles McCandless; Dr. Clints
Phillips; Rebel Rice. Director of Student Publical
Donald C. Johnson.