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THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 1978
Page 7
IVo official decision made
Metric switch inevitable?
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Adoption of
le metric system is not mandatory,
at the United States is moving to-
ard it svithout a clear understand-
ig of what is involved or whether
re change is worth the effort, the
leneral Accounting Office says.
Unless benefits are apparent, it
aid, no nation or organization
hould convert to metrics “simply
ecause metrication is thought to be
revitable.”
Contrary to the widespread im-
iression, no official decision has yet
pen made on whether to switch to
letrics or stay with the traditional
neasurement system, the GAO said
r a report released Monday.
Responses to GAO questionnaires
bowed 42 percent of the small busi-
lesses, 30 percent of the building
id construction associations and 23
preent of the people contacted be-
ieved conversion to a metric system
mandatory.
The survey also showed conver-
ion is opposed by most people, but
supported strongly by state educa-
on groups, state government offi-
ials, and large industrial companies.
"Actions by federal agencies,
nulti-national firms, educators, and
thers aided by a general feeling of
nevitability and misstatements
bout metrication throughout the
country tend to forge a metric policy
for the entire nation. A policy to con
vert to the metric system should be
made by the representatives of the
people, the Congress,” GAO said.
It said the cost of converting U.S.
weights and measures to the metric
system is not known, despite various
estimates made over the past decade
by various organizations and indi
viduals.
“These estimates vary widely and
often are not based on detailed
analyses of the factors involved, ” the
report said. However, the report
said, based on its limited informa
tion, the cost of conversion “will be
significant, in the billions of dollars.
But whatever the cost, it appears it
will be passed on to consumers.
GAO, the investigative arm of
Congress, said an “inevitability syn
drome” has developed, causing
companies and individuals to believe
a switch to metrics is inevitable. A
major factor was the 1975 passage of
the Metric Conversion Act and the
creation of a U.S. Metric Board.
“The name of the act connotes
conversion,” the report said.
Some federal agencies are moving
independently to make wider use of
metrics. The Federal Highway Ad
ministration, for example, at
tempted to require highway signs to
use metric figures.
But GAO says the advantage of
metrics has not been fully estab
lished.
“For most consumer products and
for activities such as sports (except
those involved in international rec
ords), no major benefits would occui
to either producers, consumers, oi
participants and spectators by con
verting to the metric system,” the
report said.
Hill and Clements
hold TV debate
fapa
^ase
reng
timml
ice Premie
his govern
m’s inilita"
States, sif
Hill disagreed, saying Clements
liould have put his many business
iterests in a blind trust while in
ublic office, as he (Hill) had.
I’ve just been working for the
ilksand haven’t made any money on
mes a 1
mterwei^
an to sign 1
L-S beside. I think it’s a legitimate mat-
t for the press to comment on,
fill said.
Clements, the oilman-business-
withjapm- nan from Dallas, rebutted with an
layinaSi (tack on Hill’s operation of the
Japam? | a t e ’ s top legal agency,
ukuda. “He has dipped into areas where
that Chili e should not have been. He has a
ions iwisr- rivate police force operating out of
der and i e attorney general’s office, ” Cle-
the Units ] en ts said. “He’s probably got the
;>ntain thpstest growing bureaucracy in state
ovemment.”
id Japan' Clements accused Hill of wanting
Tcng I® 3 improve education by raising
id also 4 eacher salaries, and of making the
tv, and 4 ttorney general’s office a political
s) self dr jveapon. H said Hill is blindly sup-
orting President Carter’s energy
edamaj* iiU.
from P Hill countered with claims that
de thefitfillements has proposed an unwise
In thoS eduction in taxes and has obscured
gu
larlv df
liaf rolei 1 creen s directed at his six years in
f reverM mblic office.
»30s. “I think we need sales tax reve-
—^ lues to be put into our school pro-
A rams,” Hill said. He proposed that
-yf/)
i
taxes be divided one-third for prop
erty tax, one-third for school funds
and one-third for “other needs.”
Clements called for a constitu
tional amendment banning a per
sonal income tax in the state.
“I’m for reducing taxes now,”
Clements said. “We have a surplus.
It should be returned to the tax
payers. ”
Concerning education, Clements
said, “What he (Hill) has really said is
he wants to automatically increase
teacher salaries to improve the qual
ity of education in our state. I want to
get back to the basics of reading,
writing and arithmetic.”
Clements said the issue with the
energy bill in Congress was eco
nomic. Hill said it was a political
issue that could be resolved in the
cqurts. . i . : i .
,ln closing,: Cfosoertt* made -one
eebarges which have come put (if F fj n ^l effort to separate the. polityeiaf
e liberal D^mocraFiT Tn Washing- profiles of the two.
He said, “My opponent and I are
not two peas in a pod. We re not
even on the same vine. We re not in
the same garden. ”
Uniti-d Press International
HOUSTON — The first televised
debate’’ in the governor’s race be-
ween ohn Hill and Bill Clements
voiced claims by both men that they
vere conducting the campaign on a
igh level. However, they still man-
[edtoaim a few personal criticisms
one another.
Covered in the debate Tuesday
ere taxation, energy, education,
ie role of Texas government, and
olitical ethics.
Attorney General Hill, the Demo-
raticnominee, accused Clements of
(raining ethical standards by profitt-
ig in his company’s multimillion
ollar oil equipment transactions
ithlran while he served in the U.S.
efense Department.
Tiere isn’t anything to it. Those
m, Clements,said. “I never made
iy decision (in the Defense De-
artment) with respect to Iran,
bat’s just a lot of baloney. ”
Saturday, November 11, 1978
Begins 8:00 P.M.
Bryan Civic Auditorium
800 South Coulter
Proceeds to St. Joseph’s
Hospital
$1.50 in Advance
L ij.i v ...;>••( ;1 A h ■ 11
$2.00 at the Door
SOUND CENTER
“... Home of the Sound Professionals”
SOUND — CENTER
BUYER PROTECTION PLAN
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
All receivers, tuners, and amplifiers have a
warranty of three years labor and ten years
parts.*
All tape decks and turntables have a war
ranty of fifteen months parts and labor.*
All speakers have a warranty of five years
parts and labor.*
All speakers may be exchanged for a period
of 120 days from the date of purchase. Only
the difference in price will be paid.*
All receivers, tuners, and amplifiers may be
exchanged for a period of 60 days from the
date of purchase. Only the difference in price
will be paid.*
‘Valid through Sound Center only. Buyer Protection Plan not applicable on pro
motional sale or close out special items (red-tagged) or demonstrators. Effective
9-15-77.
Where Else Can You Get This Kind Of Service?
3820 TEXAS AVE.
846-3517
(Next to Randy Sims’ BBQ)
Layaways & ■
Financing Available is
Free Delivery & Installation
BUY, SELL, RENT . . .
Battalion Classified Pulls
e campaign issues in sm
oke
Texas A&M University
MSC OPAS
In cooperation with ICM, Artists, Ltd.
Presents
■ (-•■ v.-, < - ;ji • .
ORCHESTRE du CAPITOLE
de TOULOUSE
• . i w . “
featuring
v - . > ; ,* ; • ■ v* , v
, • > :• »•••
Michel Plasson, Conductor and
Philippe Entremont, Guest Piano Soloist
%¥■
-•«
Program
; T Le Corsaire (Overture), Opus 21- Berlioz
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 5 in
F-Major, Opus 103- Saint-Saens
Symphony in B flat Major, Opus 20- Chausson
La Valse- Ravel
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1978
8:15 Rudder Auditorium
■ .
Ticket Prices:
General Public-$7.60, $6.10, $5.00
A&M Student/Date-$6.15, $5.00, $4.20
Tickets and Information- MSC Box Office at 845-2916
PLAIN TALK
FROM APMCOON
FINDING A JOB:
How the energy crisis chills your chances
Are you getting ready to look for the perfect job? More
power to you. Literally. You'll need it. America is having
trouble finding the energy it takes to make you a job.
Led by American ingenuity, the world today works by
harnessing plenty of energy. Thank goodness. The alterna
tive is human drudgery. Yet because our system is energy
intensive, a recent movement calls us wasteful. Our basic
approach to using energy is wrong, say these zealots. Big
is bad. Small is beautiful and the soft path (isolated, local
energy systems—even individual ones) is what we need.
Could you really depend on a windmill to power your
hospital? How much steel could you make with a mirror
in your yard?
A curious combination of social reformers, wilderness
fanatics and modern-day mystics has brought America’s
energy development almost to its knees. They've stalled
the nuclear approach and stymied coal. They've choked
down natural gas exploration and hamstrung oil. Their
love of exotic energy sources—sun, wind, geothermal and
tidal action—will last only until a few big
projects get underway. Then, chances are
they'll find a way to turn them off, too. Our real
energy crisis is a crisis of common sense
Our government seems to
actually encourage this madness.
Politicians entertain harebrained
schemes to tax this, ban that,
rig fuel prices and regulate their
use. We've strangled the market
system, the only approach that
can deliver as much of each kind
of fuel as people choose to buy.
Xb^Te’s a direct connection between
finding more energy and creating more jobs
More of one makes more of the other.
By the end of this century, we’ll need 75%
more energy than we’re using today.
Right now, 93,000,000 American men and
women have jobs. Over the next ten years.
we'll have to create another 17,(XX),(XX) jobs for more
Americans, including you.
Plain talk about ENERGY
We Americans already know how to solve the energy
crisis. We have the technology to reach solutions. Yet
each solution comes with its own set of political problems.
Natural gas mustn't cost too much. Offshore oil mustn't
spoil our beaches. Coal mustn't rape the land or poison
the air. The atom mustn't threaten to destroy us. Energy
conservation mustn't inconvenience people too much.
Fair enough. But so far, we're paying more attention
to the problems than we are to the energy itself. We’ve
got to stop making every social goal an ideological crusade.
We need to think things through and make rational trade
offs if we're ever going to get those 17,(XX),(XX) new jobs.
Next time some energy zealot crusades for anything,
test the crusade against this question: Does it produce —
or save —at least one Btu's worth of energy? If not, it won't
do a thing to help you get a job.
Let us hear YOUR plain talk about jobs!
We’ll send you a free booklet if you do
Does our message make sense to you? We'd like to
know what you think. Your personal experiences.
Facts to prove or disprove our point. Drop us a
line. Wed like your plain talk.
For telling us your thoughts, weil send you
more inf ormation on issues affecting jobs. Plus
Armco's famous handbook. How to Get a Job.
It answers 50 key questions you 'll need to know.
Use it to set yourself apart, above the crowd.
Write Armco. Educational Relations Dept. U-2.
General Offices. Middletown. Ohio 45043. Be
sure to include a stamped, self-addressea
business-size envelope.
ARMCO
V