Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Thursday
February 2, 1978
Jim Lindsey: rich with friends
Newspaper people spend most of their lives writing about other people.
Very seldom does anyone write about them. But this is such a time for one
newspaperman.
Jim Lindsey retired Wednesday after 15 years as director of information for
Texas A&M University. During those years, Mr. Lindsey has endeared
himself to Battalion staffs as a frequent ally, occasional opponent and constant
friend. But Texas A&M is only the last stop in his long and varied career.
Mr. Lindsey has crammed several lifetimes of Texas newspaper work,
education and politics into the last 40 years. He spent over 20 years on Texas
newspapers, including 10 years as managing editor of the Midland Reporter-
Telegram after stints as managing editor of the San Angelo Standard-Times
and assistant managing editor of the San Antonio Express-News. Mr. Lindsey
spent seven years on the board of regents of his alma mater, Texas Tech
University.
He resigned from that board in 1962 when he became Texas A&M’s director
of information.
Gen. Earl Rudder, president of Texas A&M from 1959 to 1970, asked Mr.
Lindsey to become the University’s information director. Mr. Lindsey had
served as information officer under Rudder in the Army Reserve’s 90th
Division. A lietenant colonel in the reserve, Mr. Lindsey fought in World War
II as an enlisted man.
A life-time observer of Texas politics, Mr. Lindsey was a member of the
State Finance Committee from 1969 until then-Governor Preston Smith
appointed him to the State Banking Board in 1971. He remained on that state
bank-chartering board until 1976. Not devoting all his time to public service,
he has served on state committees of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
But a list of jobs-filled and posts-held can’t give you an appreciation of the
man. You see, Mr. Lindsey loves people. All people really, but young people
especially. He admitted the other day that his greatest regret about leaving
Texas A&M will be not spending as much of each day with students as he has in
the past.
He often claimed that being around young people has kept him younger
than the 63 years he is. In fact more often he’s been the one keeping us young.
Kwiii
He’s saved many a day for beleaguered students by walking up, extending a
handshake with one hand while holding in the other hand one of the big Cuban
cigars he always carries and less often smokes, and offering some sage one-
liner.
Mr. Lindsey says he is retiring. But relocating would be a better word —
relocating to Austin where he can start another career in education or politics
or information or whatever else strikes his fancy.
“Friends are the most valuable possession, ” Mr. Lindsey has advised many
times. If so, you’re a rich man, Jim Lindsey. L.R.L.
The Record tells more than you think
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON — Congress is hack —
and not a moment too soon. Into the gray
chill of a Washington winter, it brings the
excitement and energy for which it is
rightly renowned. And, more to the point,
in a capital starved for entertainment, it
brings the brightest and liveliest publica
tion in the land: the Congressional Re
cord.
There are those, truth to tell, who find
reading the Record dull. Dullards they
are. Where else can you find two prayers
and several bits of poetry every day?
Comity between the House and Senate
conceals a healthy competition, as all
readers of the Record know, and the chap
lains of the respective bodies are not im
mune to dueling each other for the larger
share of the Lord’s aid.
On opening day, the Senate’s Edward
L.R. Elson, D.D., bid God to “Bind to
gether the President, the members of
Congress and all others in authority over
us.’” Given the deadlocks of the first ses
sion, that seeiped an ambitious order.
But the House chaplain, Edward G.
Latch, D.D., L.H.D. (who has one less
middle initial but one more degree than
his Senate counterpart), struck the true
chord of legislative lyricism when he asked
for “faith, hope and love which will make
us more than a match for the mood of
these moving moments.
Scarcely had the Record’s readers ab
sorbed that (not altogether clear) senti
ment than they found Sen. Jennings Ran-
dolph (D-W.Va.), who came to Congress
with the New Deal, applying to the Muse
for help in solving the farm problem.
The scene that Randolph depicts would
warm yourdjeart on a chilly night. Three
farmers from Georgia — part of the army of
militant farmers seeking higher price sup
ports — “just stopped by my office,” he
said. Being hospitable, he treated them to
reminiscences of his own boyhood, when
he herded lambs and cattle “over winding,
dusty roads to the railroad loading pens.
“As I talked with the visitors, Randolph
said later, on the Senate floor, “I asked if
they would forgive me if I recited a few
lines which I had learned as a boy in the
schools of the hill country of West
Virginia.
In my mind s eye, I can see the three
farmers — bulky men in their work jackets
perched on the edges of their chairs in the
imposing Senate office, their American
Agriculture Movement strike caps bal
anced on their knees.
As the senator — with his heavy jowls
and rumbling voice, this powerful man
who communed with Roosevelt and now
dispenses public works projects and sen
timent — pauses briefly, they eye each
other nervously, not knowing what to say.
Whatever they expected when they came
to lobby the Senate for higher parity, they
did not expect a poetry recital.
“They did not say yes or no," Randolph
said, “so I began like this, and I will just
give you the lines now:
The doctor heals and the lawyer
pleads
And the miner follows precious leads
But this or that, what ere befall.
The farmer feeds them all.’
It is a weighty thought: “The farmer
feeds them all. Randolph does not tell the
Record reader what the farmers said when
he had reminded them of that fact. I
imagine them pushing back their chairs
rather hastily, and moving rather quickly
down the hall, still exchanging puzzled
glances.
On another page, the Record reader
finds a handy checklist of allowable income
tax deductions for the elderly, from ab
dominal supports to X-rays, considerately
compiled by Sen. Ed Muskie of Maine.
And, once again, a few pages later, for
those with short memories, the same list is
entered by Sen. Frank Church of Idaho.
Reading the Record you get a good idea
of what former presidential candidates do
with their time.
The House, on its opening afternoon,
plunged directly into debate on the impor
tant constitutional question of game war
dens right to search hunters cars without
a warrant. Contrary to the myth of con
gressional indecision, the House voted in
less than an hour and resolved the ques
tion by giving them that power — with cer
tain limitations.
That night, the President of the United
States came before Congress and declared
that, working together, “we can move
mountains.
None of us who reads the Congressional
Record doubts that for a moment.
Letters to the editor
A&M spring break doesn't follow form
Editor:
We are wondering why Texas A&M s
spring break is not scheduled at the same
time as all of the other major universities
in Texas that we know of, such as Texas
Tech, TCU, Baylor, Southwest Texas
State, and Texas. We all have friends at
these schools and it is sad to think that we
will not be able to see any of them over our
misscheduled spring break.
We can understand trying to divide the
semester evenly into two eight-week
periods, but it does not seem like it would
be outrageous to divide the semester into
a nine-and a seven-week period like all the
other schools. This would not only allow
A&M students to see their friends from
other schools, it would also allow everyone
an opportunity to spend the Easter holi
days with their families. Someone must
realize that Good Friday is a world recog
nized Christian holiday.
We all like for A&M to stand out and be
recognized but this is one time when
A&M should be like the other schools and
have spring break at a practical time. Hav
ing spring break the week before Easter
would also allow students, faculty, and
staff to observe a very important Christian
holiday — something Texas A&M seems to
have forgotten. —J e b Wait, ‘80
Brad Freels, ‘81
John Vanderhider, ‘81
David Whiteside, ‘80
Steven Barre, ‘79
James Dreslar, ‘80
James Michael Vanderhider, ‘81
Craig Lester, ‘80
David Teague, graduate student CE
Tommy Ruddock, ‘79
Editor’s note: A spokesman in the regis
trar’s office confirmed that Texas A&M’s
spring break is scheduled solely to fall
after midterm exams, rather than a week
after exams and a week into the second
half of the semester.
Deposits ungodly
by Jim Earle
Editor:
As a resident of College Station, I am
totally disgusted with the cost of living. I
am referring to utilities, phone, and gas.
Before you can receive any of these serv
ices, you must first put down a deposit.
The electric company has you put down a
$70 deposit, General Telephone Co.
charges a $80 deposit, and Lone Star Gas
Co. charges about a $30 deposit. In addi
tion to the deposits, these companies also
bill you service charges for installation and
service. After we pay these deposits and
service charges, who can afford to pay
their ungodly bills?
—Pat Fry, ‘80
other newspaper for other religious sects
are being distributed as far as I can see.
I am a Christian and I don't like the
image “Today's Student feeds others
about my religion. By its comment on poli
tics “Today’s Student equates Chris
tianity with right wing conservatism. I feel
a state school such as ours should not con
done nor permit the authorized distribu
tion of religious materials on the campus.
—Glynn Echerd, ‘81
Cancel subscription
Editor’s note: “Today’s Student” was
given campus circulation approval last
semester by the University Concessions
Committee, a committee of students and
faculty who review such requests as pub
lications distribution. A representative
for the Texas A&M chapter of Crusade
for Christ went before the committee to
gain its approval. In the same way, any
student who feels there is reason for the
publication not to be distributed on cam
pus may attend the concessions commit
tee meeting to voice his complaint. The
meetings are scheduled every Wednesday
at 1:45 p.m. in Rm. 103, YMCA Bldg.
-z-yr
“IT’S NICE OF YOU FELLAS TO STOP BY TO
CHAT ABOUT THAT HOT CHECK, BUT TH’ GUY
BY THAT NAME IS ON TH’ FACULTY!”
Editor:
My letter concerns non-school news
papers like “Today’s Student currently
being distributed on campus. I would like
to know what standards a publication must
meet before it may be distributed. Also
who decides which newspapers are ac
ceptable and which are not?
“Today’s Student claims in one adver
tisement to be “A&M’s newest approved
newspaper. If “Today’s Student can be
approved, what cannot? Today’s student is
a slanted, biased and opionated pro-
Christian publication. Any weekly issue
under scrutiny will bear me out. Under
the guise of objective reporting, it rarely
(if ever) fails to end a story with a play for
Jesus. This to me smacks of propaganda.
Furthermore, there is no “letters to the
editor” section where dissenters can re
ceive equal time. (Another campus news
paper, “Texas Forum,” has such a column.
It also gives a slanted and conservative ap
proach to journalism but the “letters” col
umn makes Texas Forum a little more ob
jective than “Today’s Student".)
Finally, I would ask how to repeal an
offensive newspaper’s campus distribution
rights. I also feel it is noteable that no
Corrections
In “Women need to speak up,” a
story which appeared in Wednes
day’s Battalion, a word was inad-
vertly deleted from a quote from
Vicki Young. Young, vice president
for student services said, “I have
found no evidence that women are
being deterred on Texas A&M’s
campus.” Michelle Scudder’s story
reported that Young “found evi
dence that... ”
A story in Tuesday’s Battalion also
did not contain essential informa
tion. In “Four student officials is
sued subpoenas” by Liz Newlin, the
following sentences were deleted:
Student Senator Joe Young could
not be reached for comment on his
subpoena. Austin Sterling who
graduated magna cum laude in
1976, did not sign the waiver as “an
act of defiance.” Both said they
posted above a 2.0 GPR last semes
ter.
The Battalion regrets the errors.^
Top of the News Bo
State
Medical coverage denied
A Texas insurance company has denied that its major medical cov
erage applies to a woman who went into a coma before giving birth
American National Insurance Co. of Galveston has denied an applica
tion filed by Ricky Goforth five days before his pregant teen-age wife
lapsed into a coma. Laurie Goforth, 18, suffered a cardiac arrest at the
couple’s Borger home Dec. 17. She was transferred to an Amarillo
hospital and gave birth Jan. 8 without regaining consciousness. The
couple had made an application for major medical coverage Dec. 12
and received a conditional receipt from the company for payment of
the first month’s premium. But the firm decided Jan. 26 not to issue
the health policy.
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Execution by injection legal
There is nothing unconstitutional about executing condemned
criminals with lethal drug injections instead of the electric chair, the
Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin ruled Wednesday. The court
rejected two challenges to the new death penalty procedure by attor
neys for Kenneth Granviel and Billy Joe Battie of Ft. Worth. Gran-
viel and Battie sought to escape the death penalty, complaining the
drug injections would be cruel and unusual punishment. Presiding
Judge John Onion said the fact that the injection method is new and
innovative does not make it cruel and unusual.
Officers buy stolen goods
Porno law unconstitutional
Nation
Skylab may fall to earth
Space agency officials plan to adjust the orbit of Skylab to prevent
the 200,000-pound craft from plummeting to earth. A National
Aeronautics and Space Administration spokesman in Houston said
Tuesday that officials estimate, at the present rate of orbit decay,
Skylab would fall to earth by late 1979 or early 1980 if no adjustment
was made. The adjustment to Skylab s orbit will be one of the early
Space Shuttle missions. Skylab is not radioactive, but officials said it
probably would not burn completely if it fell from orbit.
Unvented gas heaters banned
World
Brezhnev and Castro meet
Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev met in Moscow Wednesday
with Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro to discuss “international
affairs of interest to both countries. The official Tass news agency said
Soviet Defense Minister Dmitri Ustinov also took part. The meeting
with Brezhnev came at a time when Cuba is expanding its interests in
Africa, particularly on the Horn, where it is assisting the Ethiopians
in battles against the Somalis and Eritrean secessionists in the north.
Sources in Washington have said there are as many as 26,000 Cuban
soldiers in Africa, with about 2,000 of them serving as “military advis
ers” in Ethiopia.
Weather
Continued cloudiness through Friday with a gradual warming
trend. High today upper-40’s, low tonight upper-30’s. High
today low-50’s. Winds from the Northeast at 10-18 mph.
Twenty percent chance of rain today, 30 percent tonight and
20 percent tomorrow. Cloudy with rain on Saturday. Decreas
ing cloudiness & warmer on Sunday.
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Undercover officers operating out of a warehouse near downtown
Ft. Worth purchased more than $1.5 million worth of stolen property
in the past six months, recording most of the transactions on closed
circuit television. Officers began arresting the more than 100 people
named in felony indictments because of the undercover operation.
More than 50 of the people named in the 182 sealed indictments had
been arrested by Tuesday night. Police chief A. J. Brown said the
undercover project was designed “to apprehend career criminals and
to develop information on persons dealing in stolen goods.” Among
the buys officers made were a $30,000 Rolls Royce for $350, a 1977
automobile for $500 and a $6,000 speedboat for $600.
A federal judge has ruled that Texas’ new child pornography law is
unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Jack Roberts made the niling
Tuesday in Austin in a case involving Jay Battershell of Amarillo,
owner of a combination adult motion picture theater and bookstore.
Last year state officials closed the theater-bookstore and seized its
property and assets, purportedly to collect delinquent corporate
franchise taxes Roberts said the state’s child pornography statute w;is
“hurriedly enacted” and agreed with Battershell’s contention that the
law violated his constitutional rights because it is too broad and does
not require films to be termed “obscene.”
The U.S. Consumer Product Saftey Commission will propose a ban
today on the manufacture of unvented gas heaters. The commission
said the heaters have caused 60 deaths, mostly in the South and
Southwest, since 1973. Unvented heaters depend on normal air flows
to remove their combustion waste. If a room is not well ventilated,
carbon monoxide can build to deadly levels. A spokesman said most
of the victims were elderly or low income persons, since the heaters
are relatively inexpensive to purchase and operate.
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the
editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily
those of the Vniversity 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 Ini!
use for reproduction of all news dispatches eredihil 1°*
Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein
Second-Class postage paid at College Station, IN ,|Stl
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 77643.
Represented national]) by National Educational Adver
tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los
Angeles.
The Battalion is published Monday through Frida) from
September through May except during exam and holiday
periods and the summer, when it is published on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Friday s.
MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Jjimk'Ailli'
Managing Editor Man Alice Woodli®
Sports Editor Paul Am?
News Editors Marie Homcycr, Carol M<v
Assistant Managing Editor Gleima Wiiil
City Editor Karen b;
Campus Editor KiniTw
Reporters Li/. Newlin. Uni
Boggan, Mark Patterson. Lee Hoy L'sclipi'rj:
Cary Welch. Scott Perkins, Boh AxliM
Photographers Susan Wehh. Ken llm
Cartoonist Doug drab
Mail subscriptions arc $10>.75 per semester; $33.25 per
school year; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates fur
nished on request. Address. The Battalion. Room 21b,
Student Publications Board: Boh C. Rogers. Cluiirmi
Joe Anedondo: Dr. Cary Halter. Dr. John H IIiiiiik
Robert Harvey: Dr. ('harles McCantllcss: Dr. C/inion
Phillips: Rebel Rice. Director of Student
Donald C. Johnson.
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