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Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Wednesday August 23, 1978 Where have the heroes gone? By JAMIE AITKEN Three American businessmen- adventurers made history Thursday. They completed the first trans-Atlantic balloon crossing, almost reliving the epic flight of Charles Lindbergh fifty years ago. The news of the accomplishment, of course, played over all the media. A fitting tribute in this day and age. But in days gone by there would have been so much more. Used to be we had heroes. In the mov ies, on the athletic field, in real life. There were lots of heroes whose feats inspired a nation. Readers' forum Charles Lindbergh was one. Through staunch determination he managed what had never been done before. In France he was treated like a king. Back in the States, he basked in tickertape parades. Those were the days when it was really worth it to be a hero. There was no doubt that the country you represented appreciated your efforts. That’s not quite the case these days. It seems every time we look around the spot light is on what’s bad in the world, and only a passing glance is given to those who are striving for something noble. Tons of newsprint and hours of broad cast time is spent highlighting crooked politicians, dying cities and rising crime. How much have you seen lately for a noble cause? It could be that people just aren’t trying for noble causes anymore. From what we see and read daily, the world looks so hopeless that there’s little to gain in the attempt. But here in the last week we’ve seen two marathon swimmers who have tried and lost, and three marathon balloonists who have tried and won. They’re all heroes. But except during the immediacy of their defeats and victories, not much is said about them. Now I am in the news business, and I’m as much to blame for what the public sees and hears as anyone else. Maybe that’s why I feel sorry for a nation without heroes. It’s not all fun tracking down what’s bad in life and reporting it, al though I admit that in itself might be con sidered a noble profession. But there’s more than that. There’s the exceptional effort. The extraordinary ef fort. The three balloonists will probably get keys to a few cities, maybe a parade back home in New Mexico and perhaps a con gratulatory letter from Jimmy Carter. But I rather doubt we ll see the mob-scene parade that Lingbergh experienced in the late ’20s, or even as late as the ’60s that Neil Armstrong received. It’s too bad. We all could use a lift. And they deserve more than just a hand. After all, not every American risks his or her neck to conquer the unknown. There are damn few heroes around. . . like so many noble endeavors, it just doesn t seem to pay these days. Aitken is a former editor of the Battal- Sometimes politics takes a back seat By DAVID S. BRODEK CHICAGO — Do not speak to me of un important things. I have been to Wrigley Field and seen the Cubs. More, I have been to Wrigley Field and seen the Cubs win. Nothing like that has happened for a long time. Not since the Eisenhower ad ministration, to be exact. I moved to Washington back then, and watched the Senators, until they were kidnapped to Texas. Occasionally, on political reporting trips to Illinois, I woidd play hooky and get to Wrigley Field. In the late 60s and early ’70s, I saw the Cubs lose to the Cardinals, the Giants and, jibnce, even to the Mets. ^ BUT MONDAY ..was.. n.iy day. In tl^e morning, I earned* my phss by listening, straight-faced, as Gov. Jim Thompson sol emnly vowed to veto an off-track betting bill. He said he could not bear the thought that the youth of Chicago might be cor rupted by the sight of a “betting parlor” on every corner. That was an extraordinary statement from a man of mature years who had actu ally grown up in Chicago. But having de termined, before noon, that Thompson is at least the equal of Jimmy Carter when it comes to spouting political pieties, and therefore a worthy contender for the Re publican presidential nomination, I felt no pang of conscience in cutting out for Beau- tiful Wrigley Field. Parking my car illegally in a nearby alley (as I had seen my elders do in my own corrupted youth), I bought a ticket and found myself in a happy throng of some 27,000 people, lured there on a warm, sunny afternoon by the promise of free batting helmets for (uncorrupted) kids and a game with the Atlanta Braves, a team the Cubs (or anyone else) figured to beat. THE BALL PARK was blessedly unim proved — a dirt infield, real grass, ivy and red brick. The Andy Frain ushers were in the same uniforms I remembered from the days when my friends and I would ride the Illinois Central to Randolph Street and then take the “El to Addison Street for a Sunday double-header. We kept enough pf our spending money tp imy a ham-,...,, burger and a milk shake for 12 cents each at Wimpy’s on Randolph on the way back home. At the ball park, I was happy to see, the hot dogs are still Oscar Mayer and the beer is — what else? — Old Style. The game was, of course, a classic. The Cubs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and the man behind me, in the boxes on the first base line, turned to his neighbor, a white-haired black man, and asked whether he was retired or just tak ing the afternoon off. “Retired 17 years ago, the man said. “I was 67 then. Worked 49 years for Bowman Dairy. ” IS THAT your son?” the first man asked, pointing to the youth of ten with his blue batting helmet on his head. “Nope,” said the retiree. “I never got man ied. Lots of kidding around, but no kids, if you know what I mean. That boy’s mama is a friend of mine, so I brought him with me to the game. ” And then he added, as if it cleared up everything, “He’s got two brothers. I bring them sometimes, too.” Meantime, something wonderful was happening in the Cub second. Two singles and two walks, sandwiched around a pair of infield outs, brought Dave Kingman to bat with the bases loaded. The big outfielder took two huge swings and had two quick strikes. “He’s done for now,” said the man in ,the next seat, “Two strides and he’s gone. ” I knew just what he meant. In my days, the Cubs had an outfielder like that named Big Bill Nicholson. Homers or strikeouts was his rule; nothing in between. Mostly strikeouts. His nickname was “Swish.” No reflection on his manhood, just his tech nique. But Kingman crossed us up and got his second consecutive double to left, and there were two more hits and an error, and it was 7-0 after two. IF YOU are a Cub fan, you know what will happen in a game like that — a classic game. Your pitcher collapses. In the third, our starter, Dave Robert gave up a walk between two outs, and then Gary Mat thews hit a homer into the left-field bleachers, where all those boys and girls sit, stripped down, improving their tans. Roberts next pitched to Jeff Burroughs, who homered into the left-field bleachers, about three rows further up. He then pitched to Bob Horner, who homered into the left-field bleachers, about six rows fur- \ther up, and almost out of the park. The bleachers people were complaining that all the homers were shading them from the sun. Behind me, the little boy was asking the retired milkman if some thing should be done about Mr. Roberts. But Cub managers do not panic, and Roberts eventually broke his streak with a strikeout. THUS IT WAS not until tfteToiirth in- ■ningthat a pair of walks got hfrff lifted. By then the Cubs had increased their lead to 9-4, and a great sense of well-being pre- vaded the stands. The sun had come around to bathe the first-base boxes in its warmth, and the Old Style I had drunk was sweating back out of me. Jim Thompson, Jimmy Carter and their fears for the moral standards of our youth seemed a long way away. Naturally, the Cubs won. It was 13-7, a classic score, baseball or football. The last Cub relief pitcher, nursing a slim six-run lead, managed to walk the bases full in the ninth, before finally retiring the side. That, too, was just as it should have been. (c) 1978, The Washington Post Company The dying donkey? By ARNOLD SAWISLAK United Press International WASHINGTON — Sometimes it looks like it is the Democrats who have the dying political party in this country. A Democrat occupies the White House, but the president cannot persuade, whee dle or bully Congress to pass many of his highest-priority legislative proposals. Tax, welfare and civil service reform are just three examples. The Democrats hold almost two-thirds of both the House and Senate, but the party leaders in Congress are unable to pass either the president’s program or al ternative legislation without extended bic kering and dickering. Look no farther than energy. The Democrats control three-quarters of the nation’s governorships, but those governors are a nominal force within the party and practically no help to the presi dent in selling his programs. See all of above. The Democrats have controlling majorities in four-fifths of the legislatures. Letter to the editor Repairs needed Editor: I have cheerfully returned to the Uni versity and my dorm to find that instead of replacing the dilapidated desks in our room (Moore Hall), the powers that be have decided to perform the obviously necessary task of walling up the windows in the showers. While I will quickly admit that this might have a reasonable purpose, it seems to me that such “improvements” should be assigned a lower priority than other more important changes. Why has the north dorm area not received the new desks, more modern plumbing, full-length mir rors, etc. that the Corps dorms enjoy? I would suggest that the Administration review all such improvements more thoroughly before acting in our behalf. I do not wish to deprive any dorm of neces sary repairs and or modifications, but I do question the judgement behind some of the decisions. — Russell W. Collins, ’79 but a major party commitment, the Equal Rights Amendment, cannot be pushed through even three of 13 Democratic- controlled legislatures which to date have refused to ratify the ERA. The Democratic National Committee operates on a skin-tight budget in rented offices and remains $1.5 million in debt from campaigns back to 1968. The GOP has plenty of money and is preparing to buy the building it occupies on Capitol Hill. However, these are not the symptoms of an organization that is about to self- destruct. They illustrate once again what a major American political party is not — an organization of individuals who agree on a single ideology. They also define what ap pears to be tbe actual role of the two par ties: to provide ballot labels for candidates. Some might object to that description as cynical or simplistic. But, except for the question of who should fill elective offices, one is hard-pressed to find an issue of pub lic policy on which every Democrat will disagree with every Republican. The explanation for all this may be in the present nature of the two-party system in the United States. Seymour Martin Lipset, in the editor’s summary of the book “Emerging Coali tions in American Politics,” observes that the “plurality wins” electoral system in this country encourages pre-election coali tions of differing or even competing inter ests that share little except the desire to win public office. In systems where proportional repre sentation is built into the electoral pro cess, political parties can afford to be more doctrinaire about their positions during the campaigns and form their coalitions after the elections. Comparing electoral arrangements is the stuff of all-night arguments. The vital question is whether the political system provides workable government acceptable to a majority of the people. There are those who believe the system in this country now is falling short of that mark. If so, what has happened before in American politics may happen again — a realignment of the party system to ac commodate coalitions that can govern suc cessfully. Kodak winning film war By KAZUO MIKAMI United Press International NEW YORK — The U.S. market is a lucrative one for Japanese color film mak ers, but they face a major sales block: most Americans think photographic film comes in a yellow package marked Kodak. “The continued rise of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar makes it all the more difficult to increase sales here,” ac cording to the U.S. subsidiary of Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Japan’s second largest photographic manufac turer. “In such difficult circumstances,” a Konishiroku U.S.A. spokesman said, “what is most important is to keep our present share. ” The world amateur color film market now is shared by four companies — Eastman Kodak, the Japanese Fuji Photo and Konishiroku, and Agfa-Gevaert of West Germany. Among them, Kodak commands the lion’s share of 80 percent, industry analysts report. “The yen’s rise has put Kodak in a stronger position in the fierce competition for a larger share of the profitable color film market,” said Brenda Lee Landry, a vice president of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith. “However, it would be difficult for Kodak to expand its share substantially,” she said, pointing to Japanese technologi cal expertise and quality. The three competitors already are stag ing a price war in the Japanese market, in which Kodak’s share is a mere 10 percent compared with 70 percent for Fuji and 20 percent for Konishiroku. The Japanese, however, have a headache even in the domestic market. That is a reduction in import tariff, which makes it possible for Kodak to reduce the price of its products without loss. When the Japanese government de cided to lower the tariff rate on color film from the 16 percent in effect at the first of the year to 11 percent in March (and an expected 4 percent by the end of the year) the industry raised a strong objection: the tariff cut and the higher yen would “result in a flood of imports” into the Japanese market. According to customs clearance statis tics, Japan s 1976 exports of film and print paper to the United States totaled $87.2 million and imports $92 million. During January-September 1977, exports came to $63.6 million and imports $68.5 million. “The trade is thus well balanced, al though Japan has an excess of imports,” an industry spokesman said. Top of the News Local Apply for degree by Sept. 5 Texas A&M University students planning to complete degree re quirements during the fall semester must make a formal application for a degree by Friday, Sept. 8. An $8 graduation fee must he paid in the Coke Building Fiscal Office before filing the degree application. Undergraduates apply in 105 Heaton Hall and graduate students report to the Graduate College, 125 Teague. Fall semester com mencements are set for Dec. 8 and 9. Vet School graduation Friday Dr. William L. “Dub Anderson of Dallas will be commencement speaker for Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine Friday night at 7 in Rudder Auditorium. Anderson is immediate past president of the 27,000-member American Veterinary Medical As sociation. He has three veterinary clinics in the Dallas area and is a 1952 graduate of Texas A&M. 29th MSC open house set The 29th annual Memorial Student Center open house and recep tion will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday. The MSC Council and Directorate sponsor the open house to introduce new students to administrators, faculty, student leaders and former stu dents of Texas A&M. State Inmate gives birth Julie Marie Catley hopes she will be out of prison by December so she can care for her infant daughter born Monday at the Harris County Jail. The woman, serving a two-year term for theft, surprised officials by giving birth to a 7-pound baby girl in the jail’s medical ward. Capt. C.R. Gaines said the woman was experiencing labor pains every four minutes, leading medical personnel to believe she was not ready to give birth. "But we surprised them, yes we did,” the woman said from her hospital bed. "My baby was ready to he born and she decided to be born at jail.” Democratic party meetings set State Democratic chairman Calvin Guest in Austin Tuesday called special meetings of party committees in two congressional districts to choose candidates to replace one office holder who resigned and another removed from office. Guest said the 16th congressional dis trict meeting will be Sept. 9 in Van Horn to choose a Democratic candidate for the State Board of Education. Woodrow W. Bean of El Paso, the current officeholder, has resigned. The 3rd congressional district committee will meet Thursday in Palestine to pick a nominee for district attorney. Billy Ray Green was removed from office after his conviction on a public lewdness charge in Austin. Exam suggested for teachers Rep. Dan Kubiak, D-Rockdale, said Tuesday in Austin that he will sponsor legislation next year to require prospective teachers to pass tests before taking jobs in public schools. “I was shocked and as tounded to read that approximately 50 percent of the Dallas Inde pendent School District’s teachers failed a test aimed at high school students, he said. Kubiak said a certification program similar to licensing procedures required for attorneys, doctors and dentists would be a good idea for new teachers and teachers moving to Texas from other areas. Topless sunbathers allowed City park police in Denver say because of the questionable con stitutionality of an ordinance prohibiting topless women in public, they will have to let women continue to sunbath and frolick in the parks barechested. Richard Fischer, a parks police supervisor, said he had received instruction’s from the city attorney s office not to enforce the law until a case testing its legality was settled through the state’s appellate court system. He said he expected an increased number of young women basking in the parks. Skateboarder goes 77 miles Inspired by Albuquerque’s famous trans-Atlantic balloonists, a 13- year-old boy Tuesday traveled the 77 miles from Albuquerque to Socorro, N.M., on a skateboard. To a news reporter who pulled alongside his skateboard during the seven-hour, 21-minute trip, Ruben Garcia Jr. spoke of his admiration for balloonists Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson and Larry Newman. “I’d sure like to be able to meet them when they get back," said Ruben. The skateboard trip, which began at 4 a.m. and ended at 11:21 a.m., “was pretty rough at times, Ruben said. Tve got blisters on my toes, but they’ll be okay.” World Kenya's president dies Jomo Kenyatta, leader of the Man Man black rebellion of the 1950s who went on to become president of one of the most moderate na tions in Africa, died peacefully in his sleep Tuesday, the government announced in Nairobi, Kenya. He was about 85 though his exact birthdate was never established. His death left the battle for the nation’s leadership wide open. Once described by British col onial Governor Sir Patrick Renison as a "leader to darkness and death, Kenyatta, the last of Africa’s modern nationalist politicians, became president on Kenya’s independence in 1963 and confounded his white critics by keeping the East African nation firmly in the Western camp. Weather Partly cloudy and hot today and Thursday. High today in the upper 90s and low in the mid-70s. South wind at 6 to 12 mph. Probability of precipitation near 0. The Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. the University administration or the Board of Regents. The United Press International is entitled exclusively to 9 , | Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise oper- use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited I * J ated by students as a university and community newspaper. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein resell Editorial policy is determined by the editor. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and arc ME MB ER subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The Texas Press Association editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does Southwest Journalism Congress not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be Editor Deb by Krffldl signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone Sports Editor David Bo^I number for verification. News Editor Lee Roy Leschperj!| Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The City Editor Mark^ Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Campus Editor Flavia Kn«| Station, Texas 77843. ' Photo Editor PatO’M*( Represented nationally by National Educational Adver- Copyeditor Sarah Wm tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Reporter Scott Pendk Angeles. Doug Ci» The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday peritjds and the summer, when it is published on Tuesday Student Publications Board: Bob G. Roger,. CU- through Thursday. y ot . Arredondo, Dr Gary Halter, Dr. Charles McCtdln Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per Dr. Clinton A. Phillips, Rebel Rice. Director of Stull school year; $35.00 per frill year. Advertising rates furnished Publications: Donald C. Johnson.