Viewpoint
The Battalion Tuesday
Texas A&M University August 8, 1978
First presidential hare leaves blocks
By DAVID S. BRODER
Phil Crane is the same kind of politician
that Pete Rose is a ballplayer. He loves his
game: he knows only one way to play it —
all-out; and he has an engaging candor
about his errors as well as his hits.
The day before he announced for the
Republican presidential nomination last
week (the same day on which Rose’s hit
ting streak ended, whatever omens that
may suggest), the Illinois congressman
smilingly showed to a visitor the front
page editorial in the Manchester, N.H.,
Union Leader. It called his bid a stab in
the back” of his fellow-conservative,
Ronald Reagan.
‘‘This is no time for games and personal
egotism,” Crane read from the paper, as
unembarrassed as Rose was by the strike
out that ended his wonderful 44-game
streak.
Later that day. Crane would argue to
the Union Leader’s publisher, William
Loeb, that it was “important to have a bac
kup ready” in case Reagan did not run or
were somehow taken out of the race. He
would also say that in no case would he
allow himself to be the cause of a division
in the conservative vote that would allow
some moderate to slip through.
But Crane conceded in advance he
would not change Loeb’s mind and he
sailed into his formal announcement press
conference with full knowledge that the
most powerful voice of conservatism in the
first primary state would be dead-set
against him.
Nor was that the only ill omen. Back
home in Illinois, State Rep. Don Totten,
R., Crane’s close friend and second-in-
command in the 1976 Illinois Reagan-for-
President campaign, had already given
Reagan aides his pledge that he would
stick with Reagan against Crane in 1980, if
a showdown came.
Add to that the difficulty of raising hinds
and waging a campaign from a congres
sional office against the established holder
of the conservative franchise, and Crane’s
enterprise seemed to many either quixotic
or what Loeb labeled an exercise in “per
sonal egotism.”
In fact, it is neither. Ego is part of any
politician’s makeup, but Crane, 47, has
shown since he came to Congress nine
years ago a true missionary zeal to spread
the undiluted conservative message. In
books, pamphlets and endless public
speeches, he has been out there testifying
to his vision of what Barry Goldwater liked
to call “a free society.”
Nor is his quest quite as quixotic as it
may seem. Reagan, at 67, is as healthy as
Crane or Rose, and shows no signs of slow
ing. He told Crane in a recent conversa
tion that “on a scale of 1 to 10, I (Reagan)
am at 10.3” on the question of running for
President.
But Reagan is as subject as any mortal to
accident or infirmity, and if he cannot run,
there’s no question of the advantage to
Crane of being in the field early.
Moreover, because of the nature of the
conservative movement in this country.
Crane is liable to exert more leverage on
the Reagan candidacy than is apparent to
most people.
Already, some senior Reagan advisers
are saying that Crane’s early start may
force Reagan to make his own announce
ment earlier in 1979 than had heen
planned. They are worried that Crane’s
example may encourage other candidates.
further splintering the early primary vote.
Crane, by his presence in the race, can
help pin Reagan firmly to conservative
positions, rather than wandering away to
the middle-of-the-road. There is some
tension already within the Reagan strategy
board over the wisdom of trying to put
some distance between Reagan and the
more doctrinaire conservatives.
A “trial balloon” floated by John Sears,
Reagan’s 1976 campaign manager, that
suggested Reagan might visit China, drew
a sharply negative reaction from Lyn Nof-
ziger, Reagan’s California-based political
adviser, who warned that Reagan must do
nothing to jeopardize his conservative
base.
Crane, who as national chairman of the
American Conservative Union has close
ties to conservative ideologues around the
country, can keep heavy pressure on Re
agan to hew to the hard-line on such ques
tions as China.
And he will be helped in that effort by
the uncompromising conservatives who
are wary of another Sears surprise in the
choice of a 1980 running mate for Reagan.
Crane spoke for many of those true-
believers when he said that Sear’s secret
1976 strategy of picking Sen. Richard
Schweiker, R-Pa., then regarded as a lib
eral Republican, as Reagan’s running mate
was "a dagger to the heart.
The identity of the 1980 vice presiden
tial nominee is crucial to these conserva
tives. They assume that Reagan, if elected,
would retire after one term at the age of
73, giving the Vice President the inside
track for 1984.
Nofziger has privately assured some
nervous conservatives that there will not
be “another Schweiker” in 1980. If no
thing else. Crane’s candidacy helps assure
that will be the case.
(c) 1978, The Washington Post Company
Americans investing in yen, francs
By MARY TOBIN
UPI Business Writer
NEW YORK -— At the midtown Man
hattan office of the Deak-Perera Group on
a recent Saturday, the line of customers
stretched down 42nd Street.
New Yorkers were queueing to buy
Swiss francs, West German marks,
Japanese yen and gold coins.
They had no plans to travel abroad.
They were “hedging” in the only way they
could afford — with small purchases of
“strong currencies.”
“New Yorkers read in the Saturday
morning papers about the dollar’s new
weakness and gold’s rise,” said Nicholas
Business
Deak, founder of the world’s largest
foreign exchange firm. “Our midtown of
fice was the only currency exchange firm
open on Saturday and the lines were long
all day.”
Although the firm does not publish fig
ures on its transactions, Deak said
“thousands of Americans all over the coun
try,” are buying foreign currencies and
gold.
“Our volume has increased several-fold
within the past two weeks and we estimate
that travel is a very small factor,” he said.
“Americans who plan to travel abroad
are buying foreign-currency denominated
travelers checks,” Deak said. “They are
speculating that when they travel two or
three months from now the exchange rate
may not be as favorable. ”
But the American who is simply buying
foreign currency to keep at home or in a
safe deposit box — often in amounts as
small as $100 worth — is a phenomenon,
Deak said.
“These people are not sophisticated in
vestors. They are what you call the man in
the street; suddenly they’ve become con
cerned about the dollar and they want
some protection against further weak
ness,” Deak said.
There is also an element of speculation
— wanting a piece of the action on the
highly volatile foreign exchange market.
The 73-year-old patriarch of the foreign
exchange market said the wealthier, more
sophisticated investor has other means to
hedge savings.
“He can buy foreign currency denomi
nated certificates of deposit, or bonds or
gold deposit certificates. Or he probably
has a Swiss or Belgian or Austrian bank
account. ”
At the Zurich and Geneva offices of De-
ak’s Foreign Commerce Bank, as with
most Swiss banks, there is a $5,000-
equivalent minimum for a savings account.
But the small investor also can hedge.
“Six months ago, if you had come into
one of our offices to exchange $1,000 for,
say Swiss francs, you would have gotten
approximately 2100 francs. Today if you
had exchanged the 2100 francs back into
dollars you would have received about
$1,200.”
Deak said the Swiss franc is the “cur
rency of choice,” for the small buyer.
However, he said there is a regional fac
tor.
“On the East Coast, the majority buy
either Swiss francs or West German
marks. On the West Coast, the Japanese
yen is favored.
Sales of gpld coins also are booming.
The Krugerrand, which contains exactly
one ounce of gold and sells for a few dollars
premium over the price of an ounce of
bullion, is the most popular.
“But smaller coins, which we seal and
certify, also are popular, Deak said.
There’s an adage on Wall Street that by
the time the little guy, gets in the mar
ket it has peaked and is on the way down.
The foreign exchange markets are proba
bly the most volatile in the world.
"There’s always a gamble, he said.
“Life is a gamble. The only place that is
Pope s death may herald Catholic change
By ERNEST SAKLER
VATICAN CITY — The death of Pope
Paul VI renewed fears of a conservative
backlash against church reforms he insti
tuted and a liberal revolt against his firm
stand on birth control and priestly celi
bacy.
Paul’s successor must map the church’s
response to that double challenge.
Pope Paul gave the church a new
liturgy, replacing the ancient Latin of the
Mass with the language of the people, and
a simplified administration. He stripped
the Vatican of much of its pomp and cere
mony and internationalized its Italian-
dominated bureaucracy.
His appeals for world peace and social
justice and against racism won the church
wide support in Third World countries.
At the same time, his reforms an
tagonized church conservatives.
Movements against the vernacular mass
sprang up in the United States and other
countries.
Defying papal warnings, appeals and
orders, French traditionalist Archbishop
Marcel Lefebvre set up his own seminary,
ordained his own priests and toured
Europe and the Americas campaigning for
a church like that of his forefathers.
Lefebvre’s supporters are believed to be
in the tens of thousands and his financial
backing is considerable. Only a mixture of
firmness and caution on the part of the
Vatican has prevented his movement so far
from developing into Roman Catholicism’s
C
first 20th century schism.
Reformer as he was in some fields, Pope
Paul firmly retained church heritage in
others. His pronouncements in favor of
priestly celibacy, against the ordination of
women priests and against artificial birth
control alienated many progressive priests
and laymen.
A number of observers said the celibacy
rule and Paul’s insistence on his own au
thority were among the reasons for the
dramatic fall in the number of applications
to the priesthood and of a number of de
fections.
The Jesuits, the church’s largest reli
gious order and think tank, reported re
cently they had lost nearly one-fourth of
their membership in 13 years.
The number of priests the world over is
going down while total Catholic popula
tion is going up. Several European coun
tries that once sent missionaries to the far
corners of the world are now importing
priests from Africa and Asia. In some parts
of Latin America, Roman Catholics see a
priest only a few times a year.
Readers’ Forum
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V
per
Paul’s ecumenical efforts were dramat
ically highlighted in 1964 by his “kiss of
peace” embrace with Greek Orthodox Pat
riarch Athenagoras I on Jerusalem’s
Mount of Olives, and again last year by a
joint prayer service in the Sistine Chapel
with the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr.
Donald Coggan.
But the efforts have been set bkck or
delayed by disputes among Catholics, Or
thodox and Protestants. The Catholic doc
trine of papal infallibility, which other
churches reject, is one of the main stumbl
ing stones.
Letter to the editor
Radio needs
more room
Editor:
I feel Jarvis Miller’s interference in the
programming of KAMU-FM is improper.
KAMU-FM as a part of the student press
is legally independent of the administra
tion (part of the State of Texas). Although
Miller’s objection was only a request, it
was obviously effective and amounts to
government interference in the press. It
would be equivalent to President Carter
attempting to suppress information, politi
cal or not, which offends him.
It is also similar to Miller’s expressed
dissatisfaction with the Battalion’s
endorsement of John Hill in the Demo
cratic primary. In the future I hope that
President Miller will refrain from interfer
ing with the policies of the student press.
—Mark Denison
Environmental Design, ’79
Top of the News
State
FBI hunts killer
Texas Rangers and FBI agents joined Harker Heights police
Monday in a manhunt for the killer of Policeman Carl Levin. Levin,
31, was found shot to death beside his patrol car at 6 a.m. Monday in
the Killeen suburb. Police said the officer stopped to question a man
walking near a roadway intersection at 5:45 a.m. Several witnesses
reported hearing shots in the area.
Nation
Tropical storm turns south
Tropical Storm Bess suddenly turned south and began picking up
strength Monday, sideswiping the central Gulf coast of Mexico with
50 mph winds and heavy rain. Bess was centered at 5 p.m. EDT
Monday near latitude 21 north and longitude 96.5 west, about 50
miles east of the city of Tuxpan, Fla. It was moving south at 5 to 10
miles an hour. But hurricane forecaster Gil Clark said its movement
was likely to be slow and erratic at least until dawn on Tuesday
bedimse Mexico’s mountains were interfering with the storm's coun
terclockwise wind circulation.
Elderly parachutist breaks record
Ardath Evitt of Paris, Ill., a great-grandmother at 74, parachuted
into the record books Sunday. Her landing at Kelly Field was flaw
less. According to available records, Mrs. Evitt s jump bested the
record of a 69-year-old woman who made her first jump last year.
Mrs. Evitt got the “bug” from a grandson, Clyde Lee Taylor of Terre
Haute.
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Refugee group on way to U.S.
A group of Vietnamese women and children whose husbands and
fathers are American servicemen left Vietnam Monday for the United
States, a member of a U.S. special mission to Vietnam said Saturday.
The refugee group comprises the entire list of 25 Vietnamese sought
by the five-member mission, which represented the Senate refugee
subcomittee headed by Edward M Kennedy, D-Mass., Mayer said.
fclic-
Kit can detect Paraquat
A kit developed by scientists at the University of Mississippi in
Oxford to test marijuana for the presence of the herbicide Paraquat
has been released for sale. Dr. Carlton E. Turner, along with Dr.
Mahmoud Elsohly, developed the kit. Turner said the kit was de
veloped because of the concern about the potential health dangers of
using marijuana contaminated with Paraquat. The herbicide is toxic
when sprayed directly on the skin or swallowed.
Ford recalls '78 models
The owners of every domestic car and truck built by the Ford
Motor Co. in the first six months of the 1978 model year will be
getting a recall notice by the end of this month. The No. 2 automaker
Thursday confirmed a report it will recall nearly 1.5 million vehicles
to correct a possible defect in the emission system. The recall is the
third for Ford this year related to problems with emissions equip
ment.
Nixon s grandchild due soon
Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of former President Richard
Nixon and wife of David Eisenhower, is expected to give birth to a
child “any day now,” Nixon’s aide said Thursday in San Clemente,
Calif. It will be the first grandchild for the Nixons. It is believed the
baby will be the first child to have an ex-president as grandfather and
another, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as great grandfather,
since the grandchildren of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president,
who was the son of John Adams, the second president.
World
Honeymoon ends early
Christina Onassis Kauzov is tending to business in Greece, 1,400
miles away from her new Russian husband, and the abrupt interrup
tion of her honeymoon has the rumor mills working overtime. Christ
ina arrived in Greece alone during the weekend, according to her
father’s oldest sister, Mrs. Artemis Garofallidi. Mrs. Garofallidi
quickly added, however, that there is no turmoil in the Kauzov
household.
Test-tube baby goes home
Louise Brown Sunday left the hospital in Oldham, England, where
she came into the world 12 days ago as the world’s first test-tube
baby, healthy as any normal baby. She was only a few ounces heavier
when she left than when she was born. The girl’s father, railway
delivery man John Brown, said earlier he was taking his wife and
daughter for a vacation in England’s lake district before returning to
their three-bedroom home in Bristol.
Grand Canal now one-way
The Grand Canal in Venice became a one-way street Monday as a
new city ordinance intended to ease boat traffic took effect. The
famous Grand Canal is one of 14 canals designated as one-way in an
attempt to eliminate traffic jams that city authorities call “chaotic,
undisciplined and dangerous.” Fines for going the wrong way on a
one-way canal will run as high as $240.
Weather
Cloudy skies today and Thursday with slight thundershowers
for this evening. High today in the low 90s and low in the low
70s. Probability of rain 20% for today, tonight and tomorrow.
East and southeast wind at 10 mph.
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