The Battalion
Vol. 71 No. 149
16 Pages
Wednesday, May 3, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Inside Wednesday
• It’s that time of the year — elec
tion endorsements, p. 2.
• Secretaries at A&M — ability vs.
pay, p. 9.
• Campbell goes with Oilers, p. 15.
C'Wf
Gasoline seepage results
in three - hour evacuation
Battalion photo by Larry Chandler
College Station fireman Roger Anderson pumps water into a man
hole at the corner of University Drive and Nagle Street. Firemen
pumped water into telephone conduits to dilute gasoline that was
discovered underground.
Jtay resident to press charges
By ANDREA VALES
Battalion Staff
A gasoline leak into telephone conduits
beneath two service stations forced evacu
ation of several businesses on University
Drive for about three hours Tuesday af
ternoon.
College Station police and firemen cor
doned off University Drive from South
College Avenue to Stasny Drive while
College Station firemen searched for the
source of the gas leak.
Although the source of the leak was not
pinpointed, firemen pumped water into a
phone conduit at the University Drive and
Nagle Street intersection, where the
gasoline was first detected around 10:30
Tuesday morning.
Harry Davis, College Station fire mar
shall, said the fire department was notified
by a General Telephone and Electronics
workman who was inspecting the conduits
containing telephone cables. When fire
men arrived, an equal mixture of liquid
gas and water was detected in the man
hole, said Davis.
Firemen immediately diluted the strong
concentration of gas by flushing the con
duit with water from two fire hoses. As a
result, water was forced into the basement
of the GTE building on Nagle. At one
time, the water level reached one foot,
said a spokesman for the phone company.
Although fumes were detected, Davis
said there was no immediate safety hazard
because the gas was diluted to a 5 percent
concentration with the water flushing.
Dirt was piled on one side of the man
hole to prevent an overflow of gas and
water from running east on University.
Colonel Tom Parsons, director of traffic
and security of the University Police, said
gas fumes were detected on Ireland Street
on the north side of the Texas A&M Uni
versity campus, but after firemen pumped
water into the conduit the fumes dissi
pated.
Extra campus police were brought in to
control student pedestrian traffic in the
area while College Station authorities
evacuated several banks, restaurants and
businesses along University.
The cause of the gas leak could not be
determined on Tuesday, but Davis said
the leak was probably caused in one of two
ways.
Gasoline could have seeped through the
tunnel wall and accumulated in a pocket
for months or years in the soil. The leak
could also have occurred from a crack in a
service station gas tank.
Davis said the tanks were inspected and
no level loss was noticed, but there was
still the possibility of gas leaking through a
crack above the present gas level in the
tank.
The help identify the source of the leak,
the tanks will be inspected for leakage
Wednesday morning after they are filled
with gasoline, said Davis.
He said the firemen’s major worry was
the possibility of the liquid gas pooling
below the tank.
Firemen also feared that fresh gas would
seep into the conduit as fresh water was
being flushed through the tunnel.
For a short time, the leak threatened
evacuation of part of the University cam
pus, including Zachry Engineering Center
and the cyclotron.
College Station and University police
helped with the evacuation by blocking off
streets and preventing pedestrians from
approaching the hazardous area.
A spokesman for GTE said employees
were evacuated from the Nagle Street
building because a large amount of gas and
Tear gas explosion serious
By MARILYN BROWN
Friendly firecrackers, water balloons
d obscenities have been exchanged be-
ken residents of Utay Hall dnd cadets in
e last few weeks, but last night’s tear
IssingofUtay left one student in the hos-
lital overnight.
j A tear gas canister of military issue was
eleased on the first floor of Utay Tuesday
at about 12:30 a. m., forcing all residents to
'acuate.
Several students were treated for eye
itation at the University Health Center,
d one student was held overnight,
wther student fractured his foot when
e jumped from the second floor of the
prm.
Utay residents plan to press charges
.0^1 fhen the vandal is caught.
“It’s gotten to the point where it’s not
tod bull anymore, said David Carson,
tay president.
The incident is being investigated by
University Police but they have no sus
pects yet.
Ron Sasse, assistant director of student
affairs, said when a suspect is found a hear
ing will be scheduled and the matter will
be referred to Ron Blatchley, associate di
rector of student affairs.
“We are fortunate no one was hurt
badly,’ Sasse said. He said his office was
taking the matter very seriously.
Carson said Utay was warned by a
sophomore cadet that something would
happen to the dorm at about 3 a. m. He
said some Utay residents planned to be up
and be ready for the attack, but were
“caught by surprise” at 12:30.
Carson said a grenade simulator was also
set off at 10 p.m. A grenade simulator pro
duces the same force as a grenade, but is
has no schrapnel.
Utay residents did not report the gre
nade explosion to police because it did not
bother them, Carson said. “That’s pretty
normal,” he said.
andidates bicker
as primary nears
United Press International
The Democratic campaign for governor
Jpened with Dolph Briscoe calling Attor-
ley General John Hill a spendthrift and
ipparently the race will follow that same
)ath to Saturday’s primary.
Briscoe, seeking a third term that would
stend his tenure as governor to 10 years,
bid news conference at the Capitol
Tuesday in which he said it was sheer fan
tasy for Hill to claim all his campaign
Promises can be fulfilled without new
taxes such as a state income tax.
Hill said Briscoe was a spendthrift of a
different sort — citing the governor’s $2.9
Trillion campaign expenditure. Hill said
Briscoe is borrowing money at the rate of
5100,000 a week to finance a misleading
advertising campaign.
Briscoe said Hill has promised spending
programs for education that would cost $3
million in the next two years.
“For him to claim this amount of new
pending can be financed without new
taxes is sheer fantasy,” Briscoe said. “His
wild promises indicate the desperate situa
tion that he finds himself in. Not in his
wildest imagination can he fulfill these
promises without a state income tax.”
Briscoe said Hill’s only alternative to a
state income tax to pay for his campaign
promises would be to double the state
sales tax.
“Mr. Hill is a captive of the spending
lobby. His reckless attitude toward the
people’s tax dollars is more evident than
ever,” Briscoe said.
Hill responded that Briscoe’s expensive
media campaign was to spread false con
cepts about him.
They know the only way they can pre
vent me from winning is to deliberately
misrepresent my position on a state in
come tax, and that’s exactly what they’re
trying to do, Hill said. “They know I’ve
pledged to veto any new taxes, but they’re
not about to let the truth stand in the way
of their frantic effort to hold on to the gov
ernor’s chair for 10 years.
In San Antonio, Hill called Briscoe “the
biggest spendthrift governor we’ve ever
had. He presided over the doubling of
spending during his five and a half years in
office.”
The attorney general predicted he
would beat Briscoe in the governor’s race
because, “the people resent dynasty build
ing and a grab for 10 years in office.”
Rep. Bob Krueger, D-Texas, said Joe
Christie, his opponent in the Democratic
Senate primary, did not understand the
complexities of important national issues.
Krueger also issued a plea for harmony
in the Democratic Party, apparently be
lieving he has the Democratic nomination
clinched and is preparing to begin a cam
paign against incumbent Sen. John Tower,
R-Texas.
He referred to Christie as a good man
and a good Democrat, and said, “We must
put aside our differences, pledge our com
bined support and unite to work towards
one goal — the election of the Democratic
nominee to the U.S. Senate seat.”
Attorney general candidates Mark
White and Price Daniel Jr. both cam
paigned Tuesday in Austin. Daniel, a
former speaker of the House, pledged to
protect consumers and promote Texas’
business climate if he is elected and to root
out governmental corruption at every
level.
White pledged to join in a suit to pre
vent Montana from levying a 30 percent
severance tax against coal shipped to Texas
if he is elected attorney general.
In the past few weeks several incidents
have occurred between Utay residents and
cadets, all of which Carson considers nor
mal.
“It’s been pretty much spring stuff until
this week,” he said.
Thursday night several windows were
broken by marbles shot from a powerful
wrist singshot, and one student was hit in
the chest with one of the marbles. Satur
day morning, butyric acid, which has the
smell of rancid butter, was poured in the
dorm.
In March, butyric acid and pig manure
were put in the airconditioning vents in
Dorm 1 and Utay, Carson said. The sys
tems had to be dismantled to be cleaned.
“It was rank for a week,” Carson said.
Ken Donnelly, deputy corps comman
der, said it is commonplace to throw pig
manure, skunks, and other smelly items
into the quad area dorms.
“We do these things to each other, too,”
he said, “but Utay feels like we re picking
on them.” He said Utay residents often
heckle them during formation and throw
water balloons.
Several Utay residents have complained
that they receive much harsher discipline
for their pranks than cadets.
Carson said three witnesses saw the
person who set off the tear gas, and he
knocked down one witness when he was
running away. The person had a very short
haircut and was wearing a Corps of Cadets
sweatshirt, witnesses said.
“We re not blaming the Corps, but if it
wasn’t a corps member he went to a lot of
trouble to look like one,” Carson said.
He said Corps Commander Mike Gen
try and several band members came to
him and assured him that if they find out
anything about the incident they will tell
him. He said Gentry and other cadets told
him they think it was done by one indi
vidual who is not liked by his outfit and is
trying to get attention. Gentry was not
available for comment.
Donnelly said after the incident oc
curred, several Utay residents went to the
quad and yelled at cadets in their dorms.
“No one knew what they were doing or
what they were talking about,” he said.
Carson said, “We’ve tried to keep it
down to just throwing water balloons and
obscenities at each other. It’s always been
good clean fun — O.K. to bother each
other.” He said he has three or four reli
able sources who tell him when something
is going to happen to the dorm.
Carson said he knows of an artillery
simulator the Corps has but he doesn’t
know who has it. “Corps members tell me
if we keep our noses clean it might not get
set off,” he said.
Last year an artillery simulator was set
off in Utay. It rocked the building and
knocked several residents out of their
beds.
Carson said there are materials for
pranks in Utay, but he could not say who
has them or what and where they are.
“We re adopting a wait-and-see at
titude,” Carson said. “Going over there
and doing something to them doesn’t ac
complish anything.” He said so far Utay
residents are trusting him to retaliate
through proper channels.
Japanese leader
arrives for talks
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Japanese Prime
Minister Takeo Fukuda Tuesday began a
two-day U.S.-Japanese summit dominated
by economic issues.
Fukuda, who arrived in Washington
Monday evening, had a meeting and work
ing lunch scheduled with Secretary of
State Cyrus Vance Tuesday, and with
President Carter Wednesday.
The prime minister was expected to ask
U.S. officials for strong action to stabilize
the American dollar, while American offi
cials were pressing Fukuda for ways to
lower Japan’s massive and still-growing
trade surplus with the United States.
The Japanese leader, who hopes Presi
dent Carter can visit him in Tokyo next
year, will meet Carter Wednesday morn
ing shortly before his departure for New
York.
Fukuda also planned meetings with the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee and
the House International Relations Com
mittee.
Asian security, the Middle East and Af-
water was forced into the basement.
Several telephone trunk cables located
in the cable vault beneath the building
were damaged by the water. Because of
the water damage to the cables, some wats
lines, teletype services, and the 822, 823
and 846 phone extensions were out of
order for a while on Tuesday.
Eventually, a pumping crew arrived to
help drain the water from the basement of
the building. Approximately 900 cables
were covered with water.
Davis said the fire department will
watch the Northgate area “very closely”
for the next month to guard against gas
pockets that may still exist underground.
HEW probers
question students
By CHRIS PICCIONE
Two investigators from the Department
of Health Education and Welfare are on
the Texas A&M University campus this
week to interviews students as part of a
desegregation probe.
The purpose of the interviews con
ducted Tuesday and Wednesday is to find
out what Texas A&M is like from the stu
dents’ perspective, said Troy Coleman, an
investigator from the Office of Civil Rights
in Dallas.
The interviews are the first part of an
HEW investigation to determine if “ves
tiges of segregation” are found in institu
tions of higher education. Texas A&M is
one of 18 institutions being investigated in
the state.
Ray Daniels, Memorial Student Center
Council and Directorate president, said
the interviewers were “interested in the
types of programs the University has
which might benefit minority students in
college.”
Some examples were the general re
cruiting of students or the financial aid
program, Daniels said. The investigators
wanted to know how minority students
perceived the University.
“The interviewers seemed very friendly
and open,” Daniels said.
Mike Gentry, commander of the Corps
of Cadets, said the interviewers wanted to
know about high school recruiting pro
grams for the Corps.
“It seemed like they were digging too
deep to find things we were doing wrong, ”
Gentry said, adding that he does not think
Texas A&M is segregated.
Students interviewed were leaders in
the Corps of Cadets, student government
and other organizations. Members of
minority groups on campus were also
questioned.
Coleman and Mimi Lee, another Civil
Rights investigator, are asking student
about admissions, recruiting, athletics,
counseling, tutoring and financial assis
tance at Texas A&M.
“The information we receive will help
us to determine a true picture of the situa
tion at A&M,” Coleman said.
In an academic council meeting last
Wednesday, Texas A&M president Jarvis
Miller said he felt that HEW had already
formed its impressions concerning segre
gation at Texas A&M.
“Our assumption is that their report is
already written and that they are looking
for information to justify their conclu
sions,” Miller said.
Investigator Coleman was surprised
when he heard what Miller had said last
week.
“I don’t know why the administration
has these impressions,” Coleman said. He
added that the HEW findings had to be
substantial and evidence of the findings
must be able to stand up in a court of law.
“The investigation is part of a legal pro
cess, part of a legal set-up, ” Coleman said.
“It requires more than feelings.”
The investigators will return to Texas
A&M May 22 to interview administration
and faculty members.
Spy trial’s key
witness testifies
rica also were on Fukuda’s agenda, but
none of these diplomatic issues over
shadow the importance of trade and finan
cial matters as far as U.S.-Japanese rela
tions are concerned.
Fukuda and his American hosts were
scheduled to discuss what the United
States can do to shore up the crumbling
dollar, and how Japan can lower its trade
surplus with America that continues to set
new records.
The Tokyo government also wants Con
gress to pass Carter’s stalled energy bill as
soon as possible to reverse the drain of
American dollars to the Middle East to pay
for U.S. oil imports.
Japan has promised to cut its overall
trade surplus from the current level of
about $14 billion to $6 billion this year,
but Fukuda said in Tokyo last Friday, “I
do not think even God can bring about
such a reduction precisely as predicted.”
Also on the agenda was discussion of the
economic summit scheduled for Bonn in
July. ‘
(See related story, p. 3)
United Press International
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A woman coun
terspy was called on Tuesday to give a trial
jury more details about stolen U.S. secret
documents she delivered to Hanoi agents
in Paris while working at the same time for
the CIA.
Known as an operative code-named
“Keyseat,’’ she was identified as Dung
Krall, daughter of a former Viet Cong am
bassador to the Soviet Union, although she
is known to be married to a U.S. naval
intelligence officer, who never has been
publicly identified.
As the government’s key witness in the
trial of a former U.S. Information Agency
official and a Vietnamese expatriot on es
pionage charges, Ms. Krall cited names,
dates and places of contacts in Washington
and in Paris with a seemingly effortless
memory.
Ronald Louis Humphrey, the former
USIA officer, and Vietnamese expatriate
David Truong, in opening arguments
Monday sought to convince the jury of six
men and six women their client sought
only to bring the United States and
Vietnam closer together on behalf of loved
ones in the war-tprn country.
The two men on trial were accused in a
seven-count indictment of conspiring to
funnel top-secret documents, obtained by
Humphrey, to Hanoi officials via a courier
with whom Truong had contact.
But Truong’s courier — Ms. Krall, the
first witness — also was a CIA agent. She
testified her contacts in Paris warned her
that her work for Vietnam was dangerous
and told her to be “very careful not to get
caught by the French or Americans.
She spoke in English with a soft
Vietnamese accent, volunteering little,
but readily answering questions. She gave
names, dates and places without hesita
tion.
Truong’s lawyer, Michael E. Tigar, told
the jury Ms. Krall’s role was to “entrap
others into compromising situations” so as
to interfere with “normalization” of rela
tions between the United States and
Vietnam.
“She left a trail of falsehood and duplic
ity across three continents, Tigar said.
Humphrey’s lawyer, Warren L. Miller,
said Humphrey sought Truong’s help in
getting a Vietnamese woman he loved and
her four children out of that country where
she was in political danger from the Hanoi
regime.
In return, Miller said, Humphrey
provided Truong with what he “never be
lieved was anything more than harmless
documents,” although Miller conceded
Humphrey realized he might be violating
USIA regulations.
Miller asked the jury to decide whether
Humphrey, 42, “is a spy or a man who
loved too much and trusted too much.”
Humphrey’s adopted family — the woman
with whom he lived, three small girls and
a boy — sat quietly in front-row spectators’
seats.
Kidnap victim
released unhurt
United Press International
MCKENZIE, Tenn. — The FBI an
nounced Tuesday that kidnap victim Jodie
Elizabeth Gaines, 18, daughter of a weal
thy furniture manufacturer, had been re
leased unharmed.
“I don’t have any details other than the
fact that they have got her and she is all
right, a little bit distraught but all right,”
said Dick Blay of the Memphis FBI office.
Miss Gaines, an attractive, red-haired
senior at an exclusive Memphis prep
school, was kidnapped Friday night after
dining with her parents at a local country
club. Her mother received a call Saturday
morning demanding $250,000 ransom.
There were reports that two men and a
woman had been arrested in connection
with the kidnapping.
WMC-TV reported that FBI took the
three into custody in the Paris, Tenn.,
area, but neither the FBI nor the Henry
County Sheriffs office would comment on
the report.
The station said that a woman was ar
rested at the Lone Oak trailer court at
Paris. It said a child was with the wo
man,and a policewoman remained at the
trailer with the child.