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.