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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1978)
Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Monday April 24, 1978 A Consumer advocacy vs. common sense Poor Ralph. First they postponed the air bags in cars. Now the House of Representatives has defeated plans for a proposed new consumer protection agency. Nader attributed the defeat, by a hefty 227 to 189 vote, to “the corrupting influence of big business campaign contributions.” Actually, it was a modest victory for common sense. The proposed agency, which has been in the legislative works for years in one form or another, was perceived as yet another layer of bureaucracy with little focus. The plan was to establish a new department of government which would represent the consumer’s interests before other government bodies. The consumer advocates would have the power to appeal decisions or take them to the courts if they didn’t think the outcome was in the consumer’s best interests. It sounds good, but there are some fundamental problems. First, it’s not always obvious what’s in the consumer’s best interest. Which would you choose — more lawnmower safety devices and higher prices for lawnmowers, or lower prices at greater risk to your toes and feet? Both sides have consumer appeal, but for different reasons. Second, the consumer agency’s function would have been largely superfluous. The federal gov ernment is already laden with regulatory agencies which are supposed to take the consumer’s point of view into account. Of course, many of them are captives of the industries they regulate. But the solution is not to capitulate by establishing another watchdog agency to watch the watchdogs; it is to appoint more consumer-minded individuals to existing boards and agencies. Much to the horror of business interests in some cases, this is precisely what President Carter has been doing. Many of Ralph Nader’s closest as sociates are now members of the Carter adminis tration. Some of them have become targets of their former boss’s scathing denunciations. If consumer protection is what they’re after, Congress can do better by continuing to pass legis lation in specific areas such as money lending and credit policies, auto safety, consumer fraud and the like. It is lobbying for legislation like this — much of it valuable, some of it silly — that accounts for Ralph Nader’s reputation as the nation’s chief consumer advocate. But we see no reason to enshrine his point of view permanently in yet another costly govern ment agency. The Greensboro N.C. Daily News Panama: The great canal giveaway By MICHAEL WARD MILLS I wish to urge all readers to appeal to their Congressmen and urge them to pro pose a resolution declaring that all flags be lowered to half-mast to commemorate America’s Day of Shame in recognition of one of the most reckless and tragic acts in our nation’s history; the ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty; or more fitting, for the Great Giveaway of the American Canal in Panama. The confirmation of the treaty, riding the crest of lies and half truths about the proper sovereignty and effectiveness to us, has created one fighting mad citizen in me, as it should in most of you, since the over whelming majority of Americans, accord ing to records of Senators mail, opposed this sell-out for numerous and sound rea- The Maritime Administration has esti mated that by the year 2,000, U.S. exports through the Canal will double (wouldn’t you rather save three months around South Readers Forum In spite of those brow-beating moralists that would have us pick apart and solve our consciences over the issue of our sover eignty there, which is valid, the facts blow away all arguments that the Canal is not ours and is no longer needed. Consider the fact that 66 percent of all U.S. export ship ping last year transitted the Canal. Not only this, but 96 percent of the U.S. fleet can transit the canal, even considering the fact that most supertankers that can’t transit the canal don’t have routes that bring them close to it. America and also save the risk of America being shutoff by Panama because they sud denly change their attitude or else are un able to maintain it because of ineptitude?). However, I guess that the second possibil ity has already been taken care of since, contrary to what the man “who promised never to lie to us has told us, we will be paying directly $20 million in revenues to Panama when the treaty goes into effect in October, 1979. You will be “asked” to give the Reds $50 million in military assistance over the next 10 years, as well as to finance the training of their Canal operators. The obvious military importance of the Canal blows away any doubt of the same. The main flaw in the neutrality treaty is that there is no stopping Panama, with United Nations support, from shutting down quick American transits in time ofwar. While the fact is that 96 percent of our present fleet can transit the canal, the projected growth of the fleet is toward smaller, faster vessels, so that, in essence, the Canal would assume even more importance. What we actually need is a bigger Canal! Don’t be fooled by the everloving, trust ing declarations made by our State De partment; the typical Communist bargain ing position has been, and will continue to be: “What is ours, is ours; what is yours, is negotiable. The result of the Kissingeres- que style of shady, clouded diplomacy has been revealed in contradictions, numerous and serious of what the treaty means. Escobar Torrijos’ official spokesman re vealed several of these points in a speech last October: the U.S. will have no defense rights in time of war past the year 2,000, that U.S. ships would get no preferential transit rights in time of war, and that the neutrality treaty would not apply during foreign attack or internal disorder. All of course, in direct contradiction of the prop aganda and hurried assurance of our illus trious State Department. The most regrettable part of the mess is that despite the overwhelming disfavor of Americans, particularly represented by the Texans who sent mail opposing the treaty by 99 percent to your good Senator Bentsen, who voted for the damned thing. Carter, under this influence of his advisors of the infamous Trilateral Commission, proceeded to give the American people a good, old-fashioned snow job. By the way, wasn’t it funny that the Merchant Midland Bank of Chicago, one of whose directors is on the commission, has $12 million dollars coming to it from Panama by way of direct loans? Makes you wonder if one of the real motivations was to hand the Canal to Panama, so that as the Canal talks were gradually raised, the Panamanians could kick it back to their master’s banks. The fact of the matter is that the old saying, "what you see is what you get,’’ does not apply in this case. Now Carter and his cohorts are trying to circumvent the Constitution which requires that the whole Congress, and not the Senate only, must vote to ratify not any treaty, but specifically those treaties involving the expropriation of American territory. The big reason, of course, is that it hasn’t a ghost of a chance of passing through the House because of close constituent ties. This flagrant violation will not occur if you good people will write to your respective Congressmen and urge them to sign the petition asking for a favor able decision from the Justice Department on the issue of the House vote. In this age of so-called "democratic” ideals and lip service pertaining to such, let’s show Washington who still runs this country! Mil/s is a junior geophysics major. Senators get old too By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — Of the 33 senators whose terms were scheduled to expire this year, two have died since the beginning of the current Congress and eight others have announced their retirements. The retirees include three relatively young men — James Abourezk (D-S.D.), 47; Dewey F. Bartlett (R-Okla.), 58; and James B. Pearson (R-Kan.), 57. The other five are at, or past, what is generally con sidered normal retirement age. But, as pollster Peter Hart has pointed out, there are three other senators, all in their 70s, who have decided to try for one more term. And all three of them appear to be in trouble. One is Sen. Jennings Randolph, D-W.Va., 76, the only member of the cur rent Congress who served in the Capitol when Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugu rated. Randolph was elected to the House in 1932. He is up against ex-Gov.- Arch A. Moore (R), and a recent Republican poll shows him with less than 50 percent support and only an 8-point lead — not a comfortable position for an incumbent. Moore, a cele brated political infighter, is not making age an overt issue. But he rarely fails to men tion that Randolph “has given almost a half-century of service to the state.” The second Senate elder who appears to be having his problems is Strom Thur mond, R-S.C., 75. No one would accuse Thurmond of infirmity. A physical fitness fanatic, he remarried ten years ago and has four young children. Yet the latest poll taken for Thurmond’s challenger, Charles D. (Pug) Ravenal (D), shows the incumbent with only a shaky 48-to-44 percent lead. The third example is Sen. Clifford P. Case, R-N.J., 73, who has both a Republi can primary opponent and several eager Democratic challengers. A recent Eagleton Institute poll showed Case with suprisingly small name recognition, despite his four terms. He drew more negative comments than positive from the cross-section of vot- Hart is convinced that there is more than coincidence in the fact that the only over-70 senators who have decided to seek reelec tion are in trouble. While Congress has repealed the mandatory retirement age for federal employees, the voters appear to think there is a time when it is appropriate for their elected officials to step down. Increasingly, senators have been getting the message. Three other senators in their 70s are retiring this year — John J. Sparkman, D-Ala.; James O. Eastland, D-Miss.; and Carl T. Curtis, R-Neb. So are Sens. Clifford P. Hansen, R-Wyo.; and William L. Scott, R-Va., who would reach 70 before the end of another term. That was also the pattern in 1976, when such senior senators as Mike Mansfield, Hugh D. Scott, Stuart Symington, John O. Pastore, Roman L. Hruska, Hiram L. Fong and Paul Fannin decided to end their legis lative careers. There is no iron rule on retirement — and probably shouldn’t be. Senators who have been as well respected in their states as Randolph, Case and Thurmond may be able to persuade the voters that time has not yet run out for them. But Hart is right, I think, in pointing to the “age issue as the key factor in these races. More than ideology, more than party label, more than positions on Panama, So cial Security or other controversial issues, what will probably determine the fate of these three senators is the public judgment about the wisdom of their decision to pro long their own careers. It has never been easy for stars in any field — and especially in show business, sports and politics — to know when to take their final bows. Increasingly the voters are ready to make that decision for the politi cians who don’t know how to make it for themselves. (c) 1978, The Washington Post Company Fetters to the editor New wall makes fortress out of city hall Editor: Just a few words to lodge my opinion against the very ugly wall the city of Col lege Station erected in front of C.S. City Hall. It makes an otherwise adequate struc ture look uninviting, forbidding, secretive, and downright fortess-like. It is very unfor tunate that so little taste and ingenuity was used to allocate the public monies with the consequence of destroying the esthetic quality of the building. —B.E. Aguirre were asked to pay for the damages since the fire occurred on their floor. Although this is a hypothetical example, its similarities are more than just a coinci dence to the actions recently committed at Utay Hall. Residents of the third floor of Utay have been asked to pay for acts of vandalism committed on their floor ir- regardless of their purported involvement in these destructive actions. It is our belief that the people who com mitted these acts of vandalism should pay for their deeds. We also believe it is illegal to try to force other residents to pay for someone else’s sadistic behavior. —Tom Gowan, ’80, Howard Yancy, ’79, Billy Waddell, ’79 Cartoonist wins second Pulitzer Panama Hnsighf Editor: The following is a short comment on Lee Roy Leschper’s editorial, “Panama’s Puppy Bares His Teeth.” The editorial showed a definite lack of knowledge of and insight into Latin Ameri can political affairs. Contrary to the edito rial, Torrijos’ comments were not directed at the United States, but to a national audi ence of Panamanians. In other words, the comments were for home consumption to appease Panama’s radical dissidents. This may also account for the lack of interest or “shrug of the shoulders” of the Administration and the State Department. In any case, the editorial was a good example ofhow a lack of political insight can bias American’s perception of what are often another country’s internal politics. Sounds like the hook-line-and-sinker syn drome. —Stan Stanfield, ’78 Everybody pays Editor: Imagine this: A fire is put out on the third floor of a dorm at Texas A&M University. After the damage done to the building was estimated, the residents of the third floor ’"cs-vuSsr.Jw.- “I get a lot of help from politicians in Washington who unknowingly contribute to the humor of my work,” Jeff MacNelly has said in ac cepting awards for his editorial car toons. v MacNelly, 30, whose cartoons ap pear regularly in the Battalion, has won his Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning this year. MacNelly calls himself a conserva tive — “a small m’ mugwump with Whiggish tendencies,” he says — but his overriding view is that edito rial cartoons should be funny. “These days there are an awful lot of reasons for readers to be full of gloom and doom,” he says. “Edito rial cartoons should not contribute to that mood. In a desert nearly devoid of humor, editorial cartoons should allow a reader to pause and get a few laughs.” j Top of the News J Campus Pre-registration begins Monday Pre-registration for the lull semester at Texas A&M University began at 8 a. m. today and will continue through Friday afternoon. Fall class schedules are available at Heaton Hall (the old Exchange Store) and at the Rudder Tower information center. Only students currently enrolled for the 1978 spring semester will be allowed to pre-register. Classes for the fall semester begin Aug- 28. Battalion staff receive awards The Battalion received a total of 11 awards from two regional jour nalism conferences Saturday. Two of these were second and third place recognition for best student newspaper. Rusty Cawley, former city editor, won first place in editorial writ ing at the Sigma Delta Chi convention in Oklahoma City for his comments on the “speediness of the Walter Joe Coleman trial. Liz Newlin, campus editor, placed second in spot news reporting for her article on possible budget cuts at the KAMU-FM radio sta tion. The Battalion received second place among regional schools for best student newspaper. The Daily Texan. University of Texas, placed first. At the Southwestern Journalism Congress in Denton, the Battalion placed first in editorial page layout and third in the competition for best student newspaper. The Daily Texan again placed first followed by the North Texas State newspaper, the North Texas Daily. Glenna Whitley, former assistant managing editor, received a sec ond place award at the S WIC for her series on gay lifestyles at Texas A&M University. Rusty Cawley received second place in critical writing for his col umn on Woody Allen’s paranoia. Sports writer Mark Patterson received third place for best game story for his story on Mike Mosley’s “heroic” game against the Uni versity of Houston last December. The Battalion was also given first place recognition for newspaper advertisements and best series of ads by Steve Korte and for best feature headline. A v, ere; ersil rocoi unds Tlu ly tin rocoi href tuddi Tlu ar ct ■ompi hisp mall it tii he t;i leep hinlii An ealta ’hilip ased Ingli rord naclii angu Vai ould tpe, ion j ould omp 1 Mo State Freight trains derail in Cibolo Two Southern Pacific freight trains collided in Cibolo, Texas, during a thunderstorm Saturday resulting in a derailment, several injuries, a diesel spill and heavy damage to both trains. Emergency vehicles were dispatched to the site in southwest Guadalupe County about 35 miles northeast of San Antonio. Sev eral persons received minor injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. A spokesman for South ern Pacific said several boxcars had derailed and the cause of the collision was being investigated. LULAC will file federal lawsuit A spokesman for the League of United Latin American Citizens said Saturday in Houston that the group will file a federal court suit Monday against the Texas Employment Commission. LULAC Attorney David Lopez said the group) will charge the TEC with discrimination against. Spanish citizens in employment, recruitment and assignment of per*" sons already employed. The LULAC suit will name Susan Banda as a plantiff, he said. Lopjez said she worked for the commission for J5_venrs and failed to get a promotion she felt she had earned. Loprez also said the TEC had been contacted by the federal government and warned if its officials did not change the agency’s policies, the U.S. Justice Department would file its own suit. Nation Indians’ trek protests legislation A group of about 250 Indians on a cross-country trek from California to Washington to protest "anti-Indian legislation before Congress called time out Saturday and announced they would spDend the week camping at a northeast Kansas reservoir to reorganize their ranks. David Hill, a member of the Choctaw tribe who joined the group in Utah, said the purpose of the "Longest Walk was to bring public attention to legislation that would force Indians to give up) renewable natural resources and rights guaranteed them under treaties. World Korean plane survivors aided A Pan American plane on a mercy mission from Murmansk arrived in Helsinki, Finland early Sunday with the 106 surviving p^assengers of a South Korean Airlines jetliner forced to crash-land. The plane crashed on a frozen lake in a remote northwest corner of the Soviet Union when Soviet jetfighters attacked and opened fire on it. Also on board the Pan Am Boeing 727 were the bodies of two passengers, a Japanese and a Korean. Passengers said the two were killed hy bullets fired from the Soviet interceptors that scrambled to meet the South Korean Airlines Boeing 707 when it strayed over sensitive Soviet territory Thursday while flying the Polar route from Paris to Seoul. Another 16 passengers were injured but it was not immediately clear whether any had been wounded or whether they suffered injuries when the MIGs forced the South Korean plane to crash-land near the Finnish border. Weather Mostly cloudy this morning becoming partly cloudy and warm later this afternoon. Fair and cool tonight. Sunny and warm on Tuesday. High today upper 80s, low tonight low 50s. High tomorrow upper 80s. Winds from the south at 10-15 mph becoming northerly tonight at 5-8 mph. 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 Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise oper ated hy students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined hy the editor. LETTERS POUCY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to l?eing 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 he 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. McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 7 United Press International is entitled exclusively & use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reset Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 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 furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Kind 11 Managing Editor KarenW Sports Editor David M News Editors Carolyn Blosser, Debbie City Editor Gan ^ Campus Editor LizN* 1 Assistant Campus Editor Andy Ml* 1 Editorial Director Lee Roy LescV Photo Editor J. WagnerTj Staff Writers Mark Patterson, Paige Andrea Vails, Michelle Scudder. Sean^ Photographers Susan Webb. Cartoonist Doug Student Publications Board: Bob G. Roiias. Chtifl* Joe Arredondo, Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. CharlesiicCW Dr. Clinton A. Phillips. Rebel Rice. Director of ^ Publications: Donald C. Johnson.