Viewpoint
The Battalion Wednesday
Texas A&M University March 29, 1978
Paving the way
The first and tactically more important of the new Panama Canal treaties has
made its way through the locks of Senate approval — barely. Supporters of the
treaty, including President Carter, have a right to be peeved at the handful of
senators who made the passage slower and more turbulent than it should have
been by attaching unnecessary amendments and reservations. But that
brinkmanship and the crowd-pleasing politics that prompted it will soon be
forgotten.
In fact, the inevitable sense of climax that has set in after Thursday’s
dramatic Senate vote should help passage of the second canal treaty to be
considered, that granting sovereignity over the waterway to Panama after the
year 2000. The historical justice and strategic logic of an orderly transfer of
control over the canal have been obvious from the day the documents were
initialed. Subsequent senatorial agonizing about peripheral issues and seman
tic subtleties was inevitable. When the important issues in the treaty debate
were focused upon, a two-thirds majority' for ratification was produced.
It s a good bet the same majority — or an even more comfortable one — will
approve the second Panama treaty.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Emotional appeal lost by mayor
Who said that one has to spend money to
win an election? Certainly not Larry
Bravenec, the incumbant mayor of College
Station.
When he filed his second campaign fi
nance report on Monday, Bravenec dis
closed that he has received no outside con
tributions and expended no funds for cam
paign purposes. In other words, he really
hasn’t campaigned in the traditional sense
of the word.
But then again, the mayor of College
Station doesn’t have to campaign. College
Station has prospered during the two years
of his reign as mayor. His opponent, Karl
Crawley, is a dark horse candidate with
little chance of winning the election. Craw
ley, a Texas A&M sophomore, doesn’t have
the support of the local political powers.
Bravenec does have their tacit support and
endorsement.
What has Bravenec done during the past
month?
His campaigning has been restricted to
pushing for the passage of the Capital Im
provements bond issue election on Satur
day. The bond issue will total $9,165,000 to
be used on improvements to the water and
sewerage systems, streets, city parks and
police and stations.
Politics
While Bravenec hasn’t been running on
money, his campaign just has to rest on his
record as a city councilman and mayor.
During his four years in College Station
government the incumbant has made all his
actions without flair and with deliberate
direction.
His style of work is that of an accountant,
which he is. A Texas A&M accounting pro
fessor, and an attorney, Bravenec will
study an issue and make a decision that
usually can’t be attacked except on emo
tional grounds.
This could be his weak point. Emotions
are sometimes important in an election
campaign. They denote to the voter that a
candidate is human, with human emotions.
A candidate must express his emotions in a
political manner. He has to show the voters
that he publicly cares about their prob
lems. Even if he can’t solve the problems.
Often the voters are more interested in
what happens to a neighbor’s dog than a
local bond election. And the voters demand
a response to these emotional problems.
Bravenec has found it difficult to react to
citizens’ complaints about higher utility
costs, housing construction problems and
other problems because they are not dis
tinctly part of the city government’s do
main. While the city may not be able to
solve these problems, the council and
mayor can exert pressure on the parties
involved.
An example is the case of the Barcelona
Apartments in 1976. The apartment com
plex decided to increase their rates by as
much as $180 per month. When Council
man Lane Stephenson brought this up in a
council meeting the council realized they
had no grounds for action. Later the apart
ment owner declared that an error had
been made and the increase was limited to
$100 per month.
This is what politics is all about. Getting
support by supporting the voters. While a
politician may not be able to use a law or his
power as a delegate of the people to right a
wrong, he can and should use his clout as an
elected official to solve problems over
which he may not have direct control.
Bravenec is not the kind of politician that
mixes emotions with politics. By definition
he could be placed in another category out
side that of a politician. He likes everything
to be orderly and business-like. Bravenec
likes to do his homework and work through
the council. This may restrict him from
handling the problems brought before the
council that may not directly involve the
city.
Double trouble for Democrats
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Republicans won a
victory with the defeat of tlie campaign
funding bill in the House of Representa
tives, But the damage that Democrats did
to each other was greater than the humilia
tion inflicted on them by the Republicans.
The bill would have reduced limits on
the amount political parties could contrib
ute to candidates. It also would have re
duced the amount that could be pumped
into campaigns by special interest groups
operating as political action committees.
Then, an amendment was offered to add
public financing of congressional elections.
But none of it ever came to a vote. Nearly
one-fourth of the Democrats in the House
joined with all the Republicans to kill the
rule that would have cleared the bill for
floor action.
“This is not over. The fight is still there,”
said Rep. John Brademas, D-Ind., the
Democratic whip and a central figure in the
party infighting that led to the decision to
send it to the floor in the face of his own
count that showed insufficient Democratic
support.
Washington Window
Rep. Frank Thompson, D-N.J., chair
man of the House Administration Commit
tee that wrote the bill, said he expected the
committee would come back with a new
measure pegged only to the way political
parties raise and handle campaign funds.
The issue of public financing would not be
allowed.
A majority of the 288 Democrats in the
House — 175 by count — favor public
financing, according to Brademas. But that
is short of the 218 majority needed to pass
anything in the House, and there are not
enough Republican votes to gain that
majority.
So Brademas and Thompson reason that
public financing can t be voted through the
House. And opposition to it frojn within
their own ranks killed the rest of the bill, •
which would have kept Republicans from
spending the huge war chest they are amas
sing for the November congressional elec
tions.
According to Thompson, that is wio a
new’ bill will continue the limits on spend
ing for candidates, but exclude the public
financing issue.
No Democrat will go on record as agree
ing with the Common Cause lobby that
Thompson and Brademas oppose public
financing and used the campaign funding
bill as a tool to kill it. But the insinuations
are there.
Sixty-nine Democrats joined .40 Repub
licans in killing the rule. An analysis shows
that 51 of those Democrats hold some posi
tion of power in the House. Yet, they went
against the plea of the Democratic leader
ship to vote at least for the rule and let the
issue of public financing come to a vote on
its own merits^ .
Democrats voting “no included the
chairmen of five committ^les and 37* sub
committees and nine members of the party
whip organization.
Speaker Thomas O’Neill, curiously, did
not take full command of the effort to get
the rule adopted. Asked for his post
mortem on the vote, he said only, “It was a
Republican victory and a defeat for the
American people.”
Was it a case of Democrats failing to have
their own House in order before the vote?
“I’m not going to talk about that,” O’Neill
replied.
It was a setback for the leadership. To
make it worse, the insult came from fellow
Democrats. And with the trouble Presi
dent Carter is experiencing on occasion
with his fellow Democrats in Congress,
that spells double trouble for the party in
power.
Letters to the editor
Stolen book market blamed on slack policies
Editor:
I was involved in an unfortunate incident
last week that I think might serve as a warn
ing to others who could end up in the same
situation.
I had left a $20 textbook on a table in
Sbisa and returned after eating to find it
gone — stolen, actually. I reported its loss
to the campus police, the MSC bookstore
and the Northgate bookstores the next day.
I ended up finding it on the counter of one
of the Northgate bookstores, and found out
Slouch
that it had been sold to the store and I in
turn would have to buy back my own book
for $8. I told the manager it was stolen
merchandise and the price was lowered to
$6. I had very little choice and did buy back
my own textbook.
The other stores said they had a policy of
taking identifications when people bring in
books to sell in order to trace them if they
are stolen books. But the manager of this
store said they didn’t do it because they felt
it gave them a bad reputation to be so strict.
by Jim Earle
“NOW THERE’S A GUY WHO WANTS TO GET ELECTED!’’
So they end up being big with hot-book
thieves. The campus police said they have
had problems with this store in the past. All
I know is that there were a lot of books piled
up on the counter. Who knows how many
were sold legitimately?
Perhaps the manager of this particular
store will take note. A bad reputation for
slack business practices is what you’re get
ting. A change in policy would help your
reputation and save a lot of us some bucks.
And a note in general: not all is sacred in
Aggieland.
— Jim McCarthy, ’81
Moody's thanks
Editor:
On behalf of the students at Moody Col
lege who watched and enjoyed the show
last Thursday of The Basement Cof
feehouse Committee, I would like to thank
the members for coming to Galveston to
entertain us.
Tony Dinuzzo, Donna Cardifs and Beau
Sharbrough showed us that they were not
only versatile playing numbers familiar to
us, but also original, playing some of their
own work, which I thought was rather
good.
I would also like to express my apprecia
tion to the management, Mark Snider and
Ron Woessner for helping bring these fine
people down to Galveston. Special thanks
go out to Linda Johnson and Bill Hearn for
their help in making Thursday night a fine
evening.
— Andy Tirpak, ’80
Moody College
Rider s thanks
Editor:
This letter is addressed to Jerry. I didn’t
catch his last name, but this is to say thanks
for giving me a lift. I was walking on the
access road of hiway 6 towards Plantation
Oaks last Thursday night. I was soaking wet
as it had been raining for some time. Jerry
stopped and asked if I wanted a ride. I told
him I was soaking wet, but he said it didn’t
matter. He drove me right to the apart
ments, and when I asked him if I could pay
him for his troubles, all he could say was
“You don’t need to give me anything, I just
hope you’re not sick.”
That, my friends, is the true definition of
a good Ag. I hope Jerry reads this.
— Brett Smith, ’81
Correction
A Management Society field trip to
Houston was reported in Tuesday’s Battal
ion as leaving Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Friday.
That time should be 7 a.m. The group will
be leaving from the MSC. The Battalion
regrets the error.
Readers’ Forum
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should be:
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Top of the News
Campus
Psi Chi sponsors noon lecture
“The Obstacles Which Confront Successful Women,” was to lie
presented by Diane Strommer, assistant professor of English anil
associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, at noon today in room
401 of the Rudder building. Psi Chi, the psychology national honor
society, sponsored the lecture.
State
exiis
Prison land purchase delayed
Gov. Dolph Briscoe delayed action Tuesday on purchase of a new
prison site in South Texas until legal problems and questions about
the value of the land can be cleared up. Briscoe, in Austin, saidan
appraisal by officials of Texas A&M University indicated the landwas
worth $6.88 million instead of the $8 million prison directors voted to
pay. A question was raised about the legality of buying Valley land
since legislators directed the new facility to be in West Texas. Briscoe
also expressed concern that Monte Cristo Farms until two months
ago had belonged to Wallace Groves of England and the Bahamas,:
longtime associate of crime syndicate leader Meyer Lanskey. Tie
land deal would include 6,741 acres and property worth $500,000as
well as an option to purchase another 7,760 acres next year for $5
million.
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Ex-police draw year in prison
A federal judge in Houston Tuesday sentenced three former
policemen to one year in prison for violating the civil rights ofa
drunken Mexican-American who was beaten and drowned in their
custody last year. Terry Denson, 27, Stephen Orlando, 22, and
Joseph Janish, 24, were convicted Feb. 8 of misdemeanor and felony
viloations of the civil rights of Joe Campos Torres, 23. Torres was
arrested May 5 on a barroom complaint and found floating in Buffalo
Bayou downtown May 8. The one-year sentence was the maximum
prison term the law allowed on the misdemeanor conviction. Hie
judge also sentenced the three to 10 years in prison suspended in lieu
of five years probation on the felony conspiracy charge. Torres
mother and two-dozen demonstrators were angry' with the sentenc
ing. Mrs. Torres said “life would have been a fairer sentence: “fliey
are alive. My son is dead.”
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Texas tourism hits record high
A record 23.2 million persons visited Texas last year and spent$4.3
billion, said state tourism officials Tuesday. These figures are the
highest ever recorded in the 30 years the department has been re
porting on the tourism rate. Short-term auto visitors stayed an aver
age of 6.8 days and constituted 94.6 percent of the 19 million auto
visitors.
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Nation
Signals coming from air station
Those mysterious radio signals that some Eugene, Ore., residents
say turn their skin red and cause other health problems are coming
from a Navy air station in Alameda, Calif, the FCC said Tuesday
Theories on the source of the' signals, which have been investigated
by engineers and Oregon health officials, ranged all the'way to outer
space. The signals had been heard at widely scattered areas in Ore
gon, but they were up to 100 times stronger in the Eugene area
People have reported noises in the head and stuffiness and reddened
skin at the same time the electromagnetic signal has been detected
An FCC official said there was nothing unique about the effect of the
signals on humans and there is no reason to believe they would cause
any type of reaction.
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Court denies release request
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A 21-year-old Springfield, Mo., college student, sentenced to
prison for seven years for making a one-third ounce marijuana sale,
will have.to stay in prison at least a while longer. The Missouri
Supreme Court was asked Monday by the attorney for Jerry Mitchell
to allow him to return to college to finish the current semester while
his case is being appealed. The court denied the request for a stayol
execution or release on bond. It withheld action on a request to
review the case and its earlier decision. Mitchell was sent to the
penitentiary March 10 after the Supreme Court affirmed his 1975
Howell County Circuit Court conviction of selling less than one-third
of an ounce of marijuana to an undercover highway patrol officer.
Mitchell had been attending the university on a regular basis for the
past two and a half years and had completed the course work for this
semester up to the time of his arrest.
World
New device guards drilling pipes
A unique plastic device resembling a giant clam shell that has
allowed oil drilling off the coast of Latin America could reap energy’
benefits for the United States, say drilling officials. The device acts as
an undersea air foil to prevent strong currents from destroying drill
ing pipes. A Dallas drilling contractor, SEDCO, Inc., has used the
system around exploratory wells in the Amazon delta off Brazil. Other
possible areas for use of the devices are in the Celtic Sea and off
Sumatra. The plastic devices have specific gravity very near to seawa
ter so they do not float or sink.
Weather
Mostly cloudy and warm today, tonigh and Thursday
considerable late night and early morning cloudiness. High
today upper 70s, low tonight near 60. High tomorrow in
upper 70’s. Winds from the south at 10-15 mph.
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The Battalion
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor J an ^j*
Managing Editor Mary Alice"' 1
Sports Editor
News Editors Marie Homeyer, a]
Assistant Managing Editor Glenw"'
City Editor Karw ■
Cam pus Editor K®
Reporters Liz Newlin. David^
Mark Patterson, Lee Roy LwchpfK
Welch, Jim Crawley. Andy""
Paige Beasley.
Photographers Susan Webb. David!
Cartoonist DoufC 11
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Student Publications Board: BohG. Rofters.CM
Joe Arredondo, Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. Charles
Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Rebel Rice. Directoro/^
Publications: Donald C. Johnson.
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