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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1978)
Disabled ble-bodied students taking andicapped students’ parking paces poses more of a burden han most realize. See page 11. The Battalion Vol. 72 No. 10 Thursday, September 14, 1978 News Dept. 845-2611 12 Pages College Station, Texas Business Dept. 845-2611 Sandskiing Racing through the desert sands, or trudging, is becoming a new sport. As ususal, the trend began in L.A. See page 9. Ins aroimj an( l doe, box 'ngia! out of ([, >t shoi assingofi [ ‘ rni out,] beeoBj, ; title fijii decide his re! lill to restore : )'2.2 billion to lefense budget s Peetatf the yotitj the ch; And United Press International iVASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Brown is shopping on Capitol Hill 52.2 billion list of post-veto items lior m administration wants restored to the id histiti s nsebud g et - fe.faced skepticism from administra- 960 Roij supporters as well as rough (jnestion- 25 jjj by opponents in an appearance Wed- ilJb ew j iday in the House Armed Services stimul inm 'tt e e, but there was little prospect me j n |. mother lengthy confrontation. be committee is rewriting the authori- | en „ er j ion bill President Carter vetoed be- se it contained a $2 iphecaa ? rcarr j er be opposed, tlear - l rown s testimony Wednesday cen- rs r ed on $545 million in weapons and he unstt ''P 111011 *- rest °f die list, totaling levmrti 'Ut 2 percent of the approximately $125 Hind M ' on dud W *H be spent on defense in the X)ut v fiscal year, will he considered later by :lentl«s| ropriations P aiu “ ls • ijTjIne member who supported the veto hill ion nuclear said he found only about $165 million of the $.545 million in new requests arguable on their merits, with the rest apparently added to support Carter’s claim that large cuts in essential programs were made to finance the carrier in the original bill. 'It’s an awfully weak list, he said. “There are some real turkeys on it. Rep. Charles Bennett, D-Fla., a leader among forces who put the carrier in the original bill, said there would be no at tempt to fight a rear-guard action for the huge ship. “I want to move forward,’’ he said, “but I don’t think the committee will want to put anything in the bill they don’t think is valid. ’ Rep. Melvin Price, D-Ill., the commit tee chairman, has introduced a new bill deleting the carrier and including some additional money to help the Navy pay off longstanding shipbuilding cost claims. But it would restore none of the earlier cuts made by the panel in weapons programs. me, gilt me o! ourt says landlords lot liable for injuries ‘fore, onl] ighf it w, I going li ing Hedonl United Press International JriSTIN — Landlords have a legal obli- ibeat'H|ito maintain rental property in liva- fat. I condition, but tenants cannot collect aid on (Knages for injuries on that basis, the ?Hiey're!ixas Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. IslandtWjThe high court refused to apply its idmark April 12 ruling on habitability to f m® damage claim of a Houston woman in- time Jlfend in a fall into a drain at the Sands jprtments. Attorneys for Alberta C. Morris of to be A sverras d afparf Houston sought to win $500,000 in dam- gesfbrher for injuries she sustained in a iept. 20, 1970, accident near a swimming ool at the Sands Apartments at 6315 S. n’t to r , . oopE. 'P Mrs. Morris, then 57, said she was walk ftg to her apartment through the swim- ling pool area when she stepped on a 1G drain cover that flipped and caused her to fall into the hole. She did not go to a doctor for several days but then had to be hospitalized for two and a half months and was out of work for about a year, she testified. A Houston jury ruled the drain cover was not defective, however, and refused to assess damages against the manufacturer, Swimquip Inc. The jury also ruled the apartment owner, Roy D. Kaylor, was not negligent in his maintenance of the prop erty. W. Jiles Roberts of Houston, lawyer for Mrs. Morris, argued the implied warranty of habitability between landlord and ten ant made the apartment owner strictly li able for the accident. The Supreme Court said Wednesday it found no reversible error in that decision. National appeals court proposed United Press International WASHINGTON — The Justice De partment Wednesday proposed creation of a new national appeals court to help bring uniformity to laws covering highly techni cal civil tax, patent and environmental cases. The specialized court would be formed by merging the U.S. Court of Claims and the U.S. Court of Customs, and adding three judges to increase the size to 15 members. Daniel J. Meador, assistant attorney general of the office for improvements in the administration of justice, said the proposal amounts to a “modest change” — a compromise to overcome strong resis tance to creation of a national appeals court with jurisdiction over all cases. Meador noted, in a speech to the Fed eral Bar Association, that Congress in the past has rejected proposals calling for es tablishment of a new appellate court. Such a court, second in authority to the Sup reme Court, could screen out cases that might otherwise fail to reach the high court. Under the current system, Meador said, the Supreme Court “is now reviewing less than 1 percent of the cases decided hy the courts of appeals.” Meador said circuit court judges “know that the likelihood that any decision they write will be reviewed by the Supreme Court is very slight. They also know that, on many issues, there is no definitive legal ruling which must be followed. As a result, it is not unusual for the appellate courts to reach different decisions on the same is- Findings could make Texas uranium leader Poetry in motion Photographer Robert Cook captured yet another facet of Rudder Foun tain Monday night. The particles of water illuminated by soft surround ing lights creates an almost ethereal image. United Press International With the development of more efficient recovery methods hy a Texas A&M geologist, Texas could surpass Wyoming as the nation’s second leading producer of uranium. In the past 28 months Wen Huang of the A&M Center of Sedimentology has earned two patents for the recovery of aluminum. With the price of uranium ex pected to reach $80 per pound soon, the owners of uranium reserves also are look ing for improved recovery methods. Research by Wen and his associates is aimed at perfecting leaching, a process being used on reserves in Duval and Webb counties while not yet perfected for major commercial operations. Further north, surface mining has made uranium part of a multimillion dollar min eral business with at least three plants in Karnes County and another in Live Oak. With the oil companies which own 72 percent of Texas’ uranium reserves con tributing support, Wen is deeply involved in the study of separation and extraction of uranium from lignite and sandstone de posits. ramm calls bill ‘piecemeal’ legislation By ROY BRAGG Battalion Reporter Democratic congressional candidate jiil Gramm charged Wednesday that the Pmpromise natural gas bill now before e Senate is “piecemeal legislation” and largely window dressing.” Gramm called for “a full-fledged dere- ulation” of natural gas prices in place of he bill. The bill now before the Senate is a com promise of President Carter’s original mergy program. The bill calls for all natural gas prices in the country to be irought under one pricing guideline. The rices would be slowly escalated at the ate of inflation plus an additional 3.5 per- ent a year until 1985. The bill also includes deregulation of in- erstate gas prices. “The bill is discussed as a deregulation 11,” Gramm said, “but it is not a deregu- ation bill.” The bill does raise the price of gas from $1.50 per thousand cubic feet to $2.01, Gramm said, but he added that under cur rent guidelines the prices would rise to $2 anyway. Gramm said the bill would freeze the price of gas in Texas and “eliminate the ability of Texans to compete for their own natural gas and to consume it on a priority basis.” He said there is a surplus of natural gas in Texas of approximately 5 to 25 percent due to the lack of federal government supervision. Texans may have to pay more for their gas, said Gramm, but they have had no major shortages. “In the last six months,” he continued, “the price of new natural gas sales in Texas have actually declined at the same time that the inflation rate has been rising.” Gramm again attributed the lack of federal interference with the increased number of gas wells being drilled in Texas during the last 4 years. Gramm also disagreed with backers of the bill who have said that its passage would have a positive effect on the balance of payments. “I think it is somewhat misleading to blame all of our balance of payments prob lems and the declining value of the dollar on our oil problems alone,” said Gramm. He said inflation, taxes and an unfriendly atmosphere for business have pushed the dollar downward on the world market. Gramm also outlined a proposal to al leviate the energy shortage. The plan would deregulate natural gas prices, open up the East and West coasts for oil and gas drilling, develop solar energy and strip mining to their most efficient and accepta ble levels and the streamline licensing of nuclear power plants. “What we need, Gramm said, “is not to just pass a bill; we need to pass a good bill.” The Senate is currently debating whether or not to send the bill back to committee in the for redrafting. If the vote favors the bill, jt will be the first matter on the agenda for the new Congress. Gram said the Senate is divided in a “rather unusual manner” over the bill. He said each side of the issue is supported by a mix of conservatives and liberals. Gramm admitted that although the vote appears to be close, the bill probably will not be sent back to committee. Texas has the only known uranium that comes from a coastal plains region where the mineral is intertwined with sandstone and lignite. Wen’s method would dissohe uranium using a reagent pumped in under 10,000 pounds per square inch pressure and the liquid would be drawn out through another pump. With the more efficient leaching methods available, Texas could surpass Wyoming, which in 1975 pro duced about one-third of the nation’s uranium. New Mexico supplies more than half the mineral. Three years ago, Texas produced less than 10 percent of the na tion’s total. Texas A&M researchers claim to be the first to discover that uranium concentra tions are not homogenous within lignite deposits, a discovery that is both promis ing and alarming. Wen said it is possible some uranium is dumped on the ground around strip min ing operations if coal is found to be of a low quality. Subsequent rains could dissolve the uranium and release it into surface or subsurface water and soil. But, he said, the lack of homogenous concentrations of uranium will make the efficient extraction of it much easier. Enrollment official now A record 30,901 students are enrolled at Texas A&M University this fall, Registrar Robert A. Lacey announced Wednesday. Lacey said the fall total represents an increase of 1,487 students over figures for fall 1977. Student alleges rape By ANDREA VALLS Battalion Staff A Texas A&M University student was illegedly raped late Tuesday night in a 'acant lot near Treehouse Apartments. The student, a 21-year-old senior, re- lortedly was approached by a black male virile she was putting trash in the apart- nent dumpster. Police say the man forced her at knife- )oint to a car where he bound and gagged ler. He then allegedly took her to a learby field and raped her. The woman was unable to identify the nodel and year of the car, but noted vinyl upholstery and a loud muffler. The suspect is described as approxi mately 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, 160 to 170 pounds, and dressed in black and white slacks. College Station police did not say whether there was any connection bet ween this incident and three other alleged rapes reported in June and July. Bryan police are investigating the al leged rape of a 7-year-old child. According to reports, the child was taken from her home Tuesday afternoon and driven to a county road where the rape allegedly oc curred. Kennedy met with Soviets, dissident physicist says United Press International MOSCOW — Sen. Edward Kennedy had a secret meeting with leading Soviet dissidents in Moscow last Sunday just hours after meeting Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev, dissident physicist An drei Sakharov said Wednesday. Sakharov told Western correspondents that Kennedy met for two and a half hours in early Sunday with the dissidents and told them he wanted to hear their point of view on human rights issues in general. “Senator Kennedy told us he was in terested in the human rights problem and said he wanted to hear our opinions not only on emigration, but in general on human rights questions,” Sakharov said. See related story, p.9. A&M engineer: treaty ‘doomed’ A former United States delegate to the U.N. Law of the Sea Conference believes the treaty is doomed, based on the reactions of the Soviet Union. Ocean engineer John Flipse of Texas A&M University said at a Law of the Sea seminar here that the Russians are really closely aligned with the Un ited States on some topics but have set up a holler about Third World sovereignty, leading him to conclude the pact will not be ratified. “They wouldn’t do it unless they were sure the treaty will fail and they are now trying to re-establish credibility with the lesser developed coun tries,” Flipse deduced at the Texas A&M-United Methodist Church spon sored meeting here. Meanwhile, a former attorney for the Environmental Protection Agency, Robert McManus, said he was disappointed in the results of environmental, negotiations among the nearly 160 nations involved. “You might say they go right for the capillaries,” he commented on the “half-a-loaf’ negotiations. Although environmental issues — particularly protection of the marine ecology in the 200-mile exclusive economic zones—of will be pivotal, McManus explained that the prevailing mentality in negotiations is that of Third World suspicion that the big powers will use Scientific research as a guise for spying. Gulf Oil Co. executive John Garrett, also a former United States delegate to the United Nation’s conference, said technology will allow sea floor production systems in depths of more than a half-mile within two or three years. Garrett expressed opposition to the revenue-sharing provisions of the treaty because resource developers like Gulf Oil won’t take on a job without guarantee of a return on investment. “The real benefit to these countries is not in shared revenues, but in developeent of resources not otherwise available and the resulting be nefits,” noted Garrett. Another speaker, Texas A&M Sea-Grant Program Director Feenan Jen nings, warned that length-of-ship and similar navigational provisions of the document could affect as much as a third of all federally-funded marine research. He explained that scientists are obviously interested in what effects the 200-mile limit will have on global studies, since many important processes cannot be understood if researchers are confined within artificial bound- Conference goal: explaining sea law By DILLARD STONE Battalion Reporter Promoting lay interest in the legal aspects of marine affairs was the goal of this week’s Law of the Sea Conference, sponsored jointly by Texas A&M University and the United Methodist Church. The Tuesday and Wednesday conference dealt with the legal aspects of marine pollution, geology and biology, as well as with current political, social and technological influences on the law of the sea. Dr. Robert Brick of the wildlife and fisheries science department or ganized the conference. He said that knowledge of the law of the sea is essential to all citizens, because a well-informed public will have a more intelligent position when contacting legislators on marine-related issues. Brick said he was selected to organize the conference since he is a member of the Texas A&M faculty as well as the UMC. Both organizations have a profound interest in the law of the sea, he said. “A&M has a substantial interest in marine affairs, including its own re search vessel,” he said. Disputes over territorial waters have limited the vessel’s access to some coastal regions to as much as 100 miles. Brick said. He added that as a university, Texas A&M has a broader interest in helping mankind, not only in research, but in politics as well. “A world where affairs are conducted in a frame of law would be one where there would be less helter-skelter in international relations,” Brick said. The UMC, on the other hand, is interested in controlling technology with law. The church stresses concern over the equitable distribution of the sea’s resources by taking an active interest in the United Nations Law of the Sea Conference, and by sponsoring such conferences as the one here. The church’s primary interests are rights of non-coastal and underde veloped nations to the sea’s resources. Brick said he and Dr. Robert Abel, assistant vice president for marine programs, sought speakers who had the kind of expertise necessary to discuss the issues thoroughly. Speakers at the conference included two delegates to the U.N. conference, ocean engineer John Flipse of A&M and John Garrett of the Gulf Oil Co. Although attendance at the meetings was low. Brie said the conference was extremely successful. “All speakers did an outstanding job of presenting legal and highly sophis ticated topics to lay audences,” he said. Many questions from the audience also indicated the conference’s success, he said.