Viewpoint
The Battalion
Friday
Texas A&M University
April 28, 1978
Contempt comes in small candy bars
We are firmly convinced that if there is ever
another American Revolution it will not come be
cause of grave constitutional crisis but because of
candy bars in schools.
The Great White Father in Washington has be
come so insatiably paternalistic-dictatorial that he
will solemnly decree that local schools may not sell
candy, soft drinks, chewing gum and other “junk
foods” until after lunchtime.
Such continued congressional-bureaucratic
treatment of the citizenry as so many little child
ren who must be firmly disciplined is intolerable.
Whether real children should have access to a
soft drink before or during lunch is completely
beside the point. That is for parents and thousands
of local school trustees and administrators to de
cide.
It is an outrageous intrusion on their rights for
Washington to think otherwise.
There is in this type of thinking an unstated —
perhaps unconscious — but nevertheless quite
clear contempt for the public s capability to handle
its own affairs.
The more Washington makes this contempt
unmistakable in small matters, the harder it will
become for Washington to lead the people in large
and important policies.
V.
What’s in a name?
By JIM CRAWLEY
Dolph Briscoe had a tough decision be
fore him. Jesse James, state treasurer for
30-plus years, had died while in office.
Who was to succeed this legend of gov
ernmental longevity?
Briscoe found his man. He appointed
Dallas County Treasurer Warren G. Hard
ing to serve out the rest of James’ two
year term. The appointment was perfect.
Replace a familiar name with another
familiar name. Being a Presidential
namesake, who needs to campaign?
Democratic primary time is here and
Harding has decided he liked his job as the
state’s number one money man. But, he
wasn t to be lonely on the ballot. He drew
an opponent that should make Aggies sing
with glee. Not Emory Bellard. But close.
HIS OPPONENT is a former Texas
A&M quarterback by the name of Harry
Ledbetter. The former student, class of
1967, has taken to the countryside and
cities in an effort to shorten Harding’s time
Politics
Are they listening?
By HELEN THOMAS fighting to maintain price controls on
UP! White House Reporter natural gas, and the lawmakers from oil-
WASHINGTON — President Carter, producing states pushing for deregulation.
frustrated by a stubborn Congress, is ap
pealing to the people. But are they listen
ing?
The Democratic Congress seems bent on
thwarting Carter at every turn. Rarely in
modern history has there been less party
loyalty and less party discipline.
Washington Window
SO MANY of Carter’s proposals have
been blocked, weakened, shelved and
killed by Congress that he is frustrated —
to put it mildly.
True enough, he won Senate ratification
of the Panama Canal treaties by one vote.
But those were squeakers — hardly the
kind of vote of confidence a leader needs to
plunge ahead.
Carter is having a hard time getting any
legislation across his desk without a battle,
and often major compromise on his part. It
is clear that he is not on the same wave
length with Congress. He is president at a
time when White House power had di
minished so drastically that he can no
longer call the tune.
Carter does not relish the cajoling, arm-
twisting, threatening style of some of his
predecessors, who had to pull out all the
stops to get their bills through. He appar
ently grits his teeth and gets on the tele
phone to seek commitments for votes he
badly needs.
But it is not his style, and that is why he is
getting some glad-handers around him —
party pros who know the ropes and who
know how the game has to be played.
PROBABLY NO PROGRAM Carter has
proposed has been subjected to more of a
tug-of-war than his energy program. On
that measure — which after a year is still
not on its way to the White House — the
president saw the full force of lobbying,
with the consumer and liberal legislators
Carter has denounced the “special inter
ests lobbyists on several other scores. In
his view, they have all but made a mockery
of his tax reform proposals and have the key
tax writers on the House Ways and Means
Committee going along with them.
The three-martini business lunch and
write-offs for yacht owners have been spot
lighted by the president in hopes of rallying
public support. But there apparently has
been little pressure from the people on
Congress to bring about the reforms Carter
is seeking.
In the field of Civil Service reform. Car
ter also is running into a brick wall.
Entrenched lobbyists and other “special
interest groups, as he puts it, are fighting
his proposals and they have members of
Congress long committed to their point of
view.
BEFORE I BECAME President, I
realized and was warned that dealing with
the federal bureaucracy would be one of
the worst problems I would have to face,”
Carter said at a news conference Tuesday.
It has been even worse than I antici
pated . . . Of all the steps that we can take
to make government more efficient and ef
fective, reforming the civil service system
is the most important of all. ”
The president also has found that his at
tempt at a more even-handed approach in
the Middle East is running into obstacles.
His decision to sell fighter planes to Israel,
Egypt and Saudi Arabia in a package ap
proach has resulted in warning signals of a
confrontation with Congress from mem
bers who are rallying behind Israel’s pro
tests.
On deferring the production of the neu
tron bomb and shelving the B-l bomber.
Carter has not been spared the wrath ot
Congress.
It seems that Carter’s only recourse is to
pressure Congress by going to the people.
And it seems that he will be doing more of
that in the future. But are the people listen
ing?
in office. Ledbetter has been active in the
Texas A&M Former Students Association
and is using that friendship in an effort to
unseat Harding.
The battlelines are drawn between the
big banks, supporting Harding, and a wide
assortment of consumers, businessmen,
and Aggies, backing Ledbetter. Harding
has the big artillery, while Ledbetter has
some troops. This makes the race interest
ing.
Harding’s support from the big banks is
not surprising. The State of Texas has mil
lions of dollars deposited in Texas banks
where the money is earning money for the
banks. And that’s what makes Ledbetter
furious with Harding. Ledbetter thinks
the state should also make some money on
the state deposits.
THE SITUATION is complex, but the
idea behind the concept is simple: Try to
make money for the state by depositing
state funds in Texas banks. Currently,
much of the state’s funds are deposited in
non-interest bearing accounts. Other state
funds are deposited in accounts which
draw interest like a person’s saving ac
count. Many other states place almost
every penny not currently being used in
interest-bearing accounts so the state
makes money on its money.
The large banks want to keep those no
interest deposits because those banks do
make money from the deposits. A bank
takes the state’s money and loans it to
companies and people. They also invest
the money into stocks and bonds which
can derive a profit for the banker. Because
the accounts don’t pay interest, the bank
doesn’t have to “rebate a portion of their
profit to the state as interest.
Ledbetter has constantly attacked this
fiscal practice, which was started long be
fore Harding’s appointment, as wasteful
and bad business. The Aggie also went on
the offensive when it was disclosed that
Harding’s campaign treasurer was being
investigated by a Dallas grand jury con
cerning the possible bribery of a local can
didate. The campaign treasurer resigned
after the story made the papers, for “per
sonal reasons.”
LEDBETTER’S ATTACK on the mis
management of the state treasury has
formed the foundation of his candidacy for
the office. From this base he has attacked
the big banks’ support for Harding. Saying
that the people of Texas want a treasurer
who serves the public and not the banks,
Ledbetter has tried to bring out to the
public the issue of mismanagement. Un
fortunately, the big banks have more
money than Ledbetter’s campaign. So the
banks have made sure that Harding is well
financed for this seemingly minor contest.
Harding isn’t really the Tammany Hall
politican that Ledbetter is trying to por
tray to the voters. Since he assumed the
seat of treasurer, Harding has placed a few
more dollars into interest drawing ac
counts than his predeccessor James did.
He is also negotiating new contracts with
banks to increase the interest rate the state
receives on its deposits.
While Harding has tried to shape up the
treasury, he has little to worry about dur
ing the campaign because of his immense
name identification. Most Texas voters
have little knowledge of the race or any
inclination to learn the issues of this cam
paign. The big races, the governorship and
the U.S. Senate, obliterate the entire
campaign for this, the fifth highest elective
office in the state.
The voters entering the polls on May 6
will probably not remember the name,
Harry Ledbetter, or the race, State Trea
surer, for which Ledbetter is trying to
win. They will recognize the incumbent’s
name. Warren G. Harding. He may not be
the president, but the Texas voter usually
doesn’t think at the polls.
Go South, old crook
By DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Two young busi
nessmen here are trying to foment a na
tional “Don’t Buy Books By Crooks”
movement.
Although several likely targets present
themselves, the instigators say their main
The Lighter Side
objective is to depress the sales of former
President Nixon’s forthcoming memoirs.
To that end, they are distributing post
ers, bumper-stickers and T-shirts bearing
the slogan “The Book Stops Here” and
other catchy sayings.
Why does Nixon, four years out of office,
continue to arouse such animosity?
His son-in-law, David Eisenhower,
suggests that one reason may be that Nixon
is a native Californian. '
“Throughout his political career Nixon
represented California in all of its meanings
in American politics,’ Ei se nhower says in
an interview in Your Place magazine.
“And therefore he faced the emotional
resistance and enmity of a-substantial
number of Americans who were uncom
fortable with what California has become in
the United States — a place untempered
yet by the limits that characterize cultural
and intellectual life in the East.”
You can, of course, draw your own con
clusions as to the validity of that observa
tion.
It may help you to know that elsewhere
in the interview, in explaining why he
spends so much time on the golf course,
Eisenhower observes that “a three-foot
putt is really a test of your moral and intel
lectual capacity.”
Letters to the editor
Since he did not elaborate, I’m not sure
whether that sort of intellectual challenge
was what he meant by the limits on intellec
tual life in the East.
Anyway, the reasons for the hostilities
directed at Nixon, as well as the cerebral
effort required in putting, undoubtedly are
subject to varying appraisals.
It does seem beyond dispute, however,
that some states are mor e adorable than
others.
Sbisa: Aggie home of "great tastes’. . .
Editor:
I wish to commend the management of
Sbisa Dining Hall for the dramatic im
provement in the quality of food in the last
week or so. While I am sure the improve
ment of the food during pre-registration
week is purely coincidental, I am looking
forward to pre-registration next semester
also!
— Keith S. Albright, ’79
for their creation of the world’s largest
audio frequence resonance chamber.
George Welch, ’79; Wayne Baggett,
’79; Olin Hartin, ’79
Good ‘Morning’
observation that the members of the group
do not project enough of themselves into
the Popular music they perform. Morning
is a talented, entertaining showband, but
sometimes appear too well rehearsed. The
jokos often sound as though they have been
and sounds
Editor:
Congratulations to the designers of Sbisa
Editor:
I would like to thank Doug Graham for
his review of Morning in Monday’s Battal
ion. I did not see the act last weekend, but
have several times in the past and thought
Graham’s assessment accurate.
The point I most appreciated was the
done night after night in some Steak and
Ale ffi San Antonio. The “bread and butter
circuit, as Graham called it, can be more
stifling than places like the Basement
where music is the only attraction.
For Morning to realize its.foll potential,
the group will have to perform more often
in places where creativity is appreciated
more than jokes and high-energy boogie.
— Lyle Lovett
And it is logical to assume that a state’s
popularity, or the lack of it works to the
political advantage, or disadvantage, of its
native sons.
In that light, I think it is fair to say that
had Nixon been born ir> ^ more lovable
state, Watergate would never have hap
pened.
But, you protest, Nixo n is no longer in
politics. True enough. It must be noted,
however, that he still lives i n California.
Presumably, the emotional resistance
and enmity inspired by his birthplace lin
gers on into private life.
If, upon leaving the White House, Nixon
had moved to, say, Georgia, He wouldn’t
now be harrassed by people trying to keep
his memoirs off the best-seller lists.
When a public figure \vho resigns under
fire retires to Georgia, his private life be
comes strictly his own business.
Just ask Bert Lance.
Top of the News
Campus
Fund drive, open house set
Planned Parenthood Center will hold an open house at its new
location, 303B College Main in College Station next Wednesday from
4 to 6 p.m. El Shuara Arabian Farms and Mi-Shahna Farm Arabians
have donated a registered purebred Arabian gelding as a door prize
With each $1 donation to the fund raising drive, a person becomes
eligible for the drawing of this prize. The drive is being sponsored by
the Texas Aggie Medical Student Association.
Turn clocks ahead one hour
“No n
i agair
ieeps
IcDom
tanger.
Daylight-savin)
your clocks aheac
; time begins Sunday at 2 a.m. Don t forget to turn
one hour.
State
Byrd admits he supplied gun
William E. Byrd, saying he was now ready to testify against his
fellow Houston police officers, Thursday pleaded guilty to the charge
of supplying a .22-caliber pistol found in the hand of dead 17-year-okl
Randall A. Webster. Byrd admitted that he tried to justify another
officer’s report that the youth had pulled a gun on him. Assistant U.S,
Attorney Lupe Salinas said Byrd’s plea was part of a bargain in ex
change for testimony at trials that might arise from the case. Byrd will
not be prosecuted beyond his guilty plea, which could lead to a
three-year sentence and a $500 fine.
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Plans for new prison may changf
Gov. Dolph Briscoe said Thursday in Austin that he wants the
Texas Board of Corrections to abandon plans to purchase land in
Hidalgo Country for a new prison and look for a location within 75
miles of Huntsville. Briscoe sent a letter to James M. Windham,
chairman of the board, asking the board to prepare to sell the Blue
Ridge Farm prison property and start looking for a new location. The
head of a prison reform group called Citizens United for Rehabilita
tion of Errants, suggested the Board of Corrections purchase the
Harris County Rehabilitation Center instead of looking for other sites
for larger prison facilities.
Some military bases may close
i froi
niform
neei
The Pentagon’s list of proposed military bases realignments and th
closures in the Southwest will not go into effect until officials com
plete environmental impact studies and economic studies. In San ||)y me
Angelo, the closure of Goodfellow Air Force Base would affect 1
military persons and 325 civilians. In El Paso, the possible closure of
on Army training brigade at Fort Bliss would affect 608 military per
sons and 41 civilians.
Nation
oo.
The
Th(
Rive
[THE
Collapse kills 51 workmen
State police said 51 workmen were killed Thursday in Willow Is
land, W. Va., when scaffolding collapsed and plunged about 170 feel
inside a huge cooling tower under construction. Police were search
ing through the rubble and debris for additional bodies. Sixty work
men were believed on the scaffolding at the time of the collapse. The
scattolding was near the top of the half-complete tower, which mea
sures about 360 feet in diameter at its base and is nearly 200 feet high.
De
World
Afghanistan coup claimed
Rebfel military units shelled the presidential palace and other key
buildings in the Afhganistan capital of Kabul Thursday. They cap
tured the radio and claimed to have seized power in a coup. Radio
Pakistan, monitored in New Delhi, reported in its morning broad
casts that Kabul radio, which had been off the air for several hours,
resumed broadcasting to announce the coup. Radio Kabul announced
“the end of the rule of President Mohammed Doud, and an end of the
reign of the imperialists.” Gen. Abul Kader, who described himself as
the Chief of the Board of the Defense Services, announced over the
radio that a military revolutionary council had taken over. Diplomats
said air force fighter planes roared over the city and fired rockets at
the strategic downtown buildings. Reports from diplomats of several
Western nations said it was unclear how much of the army and air
force supported the coup. The heavy fighting broke out hours after
Afghani authorities said they had crushed a leftist ploy aimed at over
throwing the government of President Doud.
^ase:
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Dec.
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Weather
Partly cloudy skies today, tonight and Saturday. Slight
chance of thundershowers tonight increasing on Saturday
High today mid-80s, low tonight mid-60s. High tomorrow
mid-80s. Winds from the south-southeast at 15-20 mph
20% chance of rain tonight increasing to 30% on Saturday.
The Battalion
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Wj.
Managing Editor Karen
Sports Editor . a
| News Editors Carolyn Blosser, Debbie‘S “Qj
I City Editor GaO^ A-j:
I Campus Editor '
I Assistant Campus Editor Andy" 1
I Editorial Director Lee Roy LeJWV
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Andrea Vails, Michelle Scudder, Se** 1
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Cartoonist Doug ^
Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogers,
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I Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Rebel Rice. Director of ^
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