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The Battalion Wednesday
Texas A&M University January 3, 1979
Tax cuts to figure in
Texan surplus use
By ROLAND LINDSEY
UPI Capitol Reporter
AUSTIN, Texas — Money and the
manner in which it is spent or not spent
will be the dominant issue of the 1979
Legislature which convenes Tuesday for
its 140-day biennial session, the state’s top
two legislative leaders agree.
“The top issue is always the appropria
tions bill,” said Lt. Gov. William P.
Hobby.
“That’s where the state’s priorities are
set, so that’s number one and the other
things are going to be behind that.”
How the state’s money is spent always
has been a major issue in Texas legislative
sessions. But with election of the state’s
first Republican governor in a century and
the nationwide movement to reduce taxes,
the prospect of reducing taxes will be a key
factor in determining how a projected
$2.8-billion budget surplus will be used.
Tax relief proposals already approved by
the Legislature and voters could return
about $1 billion of that projected surplus
to voters. Outgoing Gov. Dolph Briscoe
and incoming Gov. Bill Clements have in
dicated they will recommend additional
tax reductions of up to another $1 billion.
Public school finance, one of the more
costly of the state’s programs and the
major issue in the past few legislative ses
sions, again will provoke significant de
bate, although there are differences of
opinion on just how important the bill will
be.
“School finance is not as big an issue as
is has been in the past two sessions,” said
Speaker Bill Clayton. He contends the
school finance issue still will be important.
but said studies by legislative committees,
coupled with provisions of the tax relief
amendment to the state constitution
adopted by voters in November, resolve
some of the major financiad will make the
school finance question easier to resolve
this year.
Hobby estimates the state will increase
its spending on public school finance by
about $1 billion in 1979, just as it did in
1977.
He predicted about one-third of that $1
billion would go toward reducing the share
of school costs paid by local districts, one-
third to increasing state aid for mainte
nance and operation and transportation in
the districts, and one-third for an increase
in teacher salaries.
Other issues cited by Hobby or Clayton
as major ones for the upcoming session in
clude:
— Products liability legislation, which
will prompt a major battle for the second
consecutive session between insurance
companies and trial lawyers. A medical
malpractice insurance dispute involving
the same parties was not resolved until the
closing hours of the 1977 session.
— A proposal to raise the interest ceil
ing for home mortgage loans in Texas from
10 percent to 12 percent. The bill is being
pushed by the savings and loan industry,
which contends home loans could decline
by 60 to 70 percent if the state ceiling on
interest rates is not raised.
— Debate on Clements proposals to
give Texans the right of initiative and re
ferendum, and to require a two-thirds
majority vote in the House and Senate to
enact of tax bills.
What Carter promoted least, he did best
By DAVID S. BRODER
WASHINGTON - The old year ended
as it began, with President Carter express
ing optimism about the prospects for
peace in the Middle East jmd <be early’ 1 *
conclusion of a strategic f^O^-'&W'hitioo
treaty with Russia. That note, sdCmded re
peatedly through the year, gave a tone of
consistency to the 1978 Carter dispatches,
which were otherwise most notable for
their surprises.
If you doubt that much unexpected de
veloped during the past 12 months, recall
that last new year’s eve, Jimmy Carter was
being entertained by the Shah of Iran,
whose throne seemed as stable and endur
ing as George Wallace’s reign in Alabama
or the dominance of Hubert Humphrey’s
Democratic Farmer-Labor party in Min
nesota.
As a matter of fact, the upheavals in
Alabama and Minnesota were somewhat
accurately anticipated in this space. But,
for the most part, rereading a year’s ac
cumulation of journalistic scribbling is
the same exercise in self-humiliation for
By ALAIN RAYMOND
PARIS - Few people on earth are as in
terested in good food as are the French.
Thus scientists here devote tremendous
energy to improving the quality of meat
and poultry, and they have recently come
up with a example of innovations that may
be copied elsewhere in the world.
1978 as for most years.
The only excuse for ignoring Satchel
Paige’s sage advice to “never look back;
somebody may be gaining on you” is the
occasional discovery of a point you really
badn t n<*ticed. before.
Jimmy Carter Was, naturally enough,
thf** 1 strbj^fet" of mote columns and news
stories than anyone else. But it had not
occurred to me, before I reviewed the
year’s observations ori his presidency, that
there had been an almost perfect inverse
correlation between the advance build-up
for an event in which he was involved and
the substantive results.
His three most important announce
ments of the year came as surprises to the
nation; the Camp David accords; the deci
sion to make full-scale defense of the dol
lar; and the recognition of China.
By contrast, the most elaborately pro
moted events almost invariably turned to
dust. That was true of the new urban pol
icy, born after almost endless labors, and
the several versions of an anti-inflation pol
icy he unveiled during the year. It was
true of the President’s overseas travels and
Much of this research is being done by
experts at France’s National Institute of
Agronomy, whose various stations around
the country focus on making agriculture
and livestock-breeding better and more
economical.
Specialists at the institute had searched
for years for ways to perform such minor
operations as tattooing, castration and
conferences. And it was emphatically true
of almost every Carter speech scheduled
more than a week in advance.
There were, to be sure, some excep
tions. The Panama treaties and civil serv
ice reform were heavily lobbied and ea
gerly publicized before they were ap
proved, and both belong on the list of sub
stantial Carter achievements.
But the main point rmains, as a puzzling
footnote to 1978. What Carter publicized
and politicized least was that he did best.
It is puzzling because the most significant
visible changes in the administration’s
second year were the addition of two top
political-promotional talents to the White
House staff in the persons of Anne Wexler
and Jerry Rafshoon.
Wexler’s and Rafshoon’s skills lie pre
cisely in the area of packaging programs
and policies in ways that are palatable
to power-brokers and the public. They are
external operators with a subtlety of touch
that was notably missing in Carter’s first
year, and he is lucky to have them around.
But it strikes me now, at year-end, that
as much as the politics and public relations
horn-cutting on cattle, sheep and other
animals without using tranquilizers or
analgesics, which do not take effect im
mediately and from which the beasts re
cuperate slowly.
One specialist in the city of Toulouse
considered acupuncture as a method for
anesthetizing animals, and that notion led
him to explore other ways of dulling their
nerves.
He and his team experimented for
months on cats, immobilizing them by
pinching their nerve centers through the
skin in precise spots. When this worked,
they went on to experiment with sheep,
goats, lambs and calves. They found that
they could induce a sort of sleep hypnosis
in the animals.
The experts first place pincers on the
spinal column area of the animal, then on
the flanks and the thoracic cage. The ani
mal gradually stops moving, stumbles, and
collapses to sleep.
The hypnotic state lasts from 20 to 40
minutes, usually enough time for the vet
erinarian to perform an operation. The
pincers are removed after the operation,
and the young animal slowly gets to its feet
and shakes itself as if awakening nrm a bad
dream.
During their experiment, the re
searchers used regular surgical pincers.
But these proved to be impractical. So
they invented and patented a new instru
ment, a wide jaw pincer with protective
rubber disks that adhere to the skin of the
animal readily.
This anesthetic approach is already
being used widely on young animals, but
tests are underway with adult cattle, and
the prospects of success appear promising.
Meanwhile, French scientists working
at a poultry research station at Tours, in
the Loire Valley, have perfected a method
for controlling sperm production in roos
ters by varying the amount of light they
of the administration improved, the major
breakthrough for Carter came in quite a
different area. It came in big-issue
decision-making, when he and his col
leagues kept their mouths shut until they
had what they thought had to be done.
It also strikes me that this is a sign of
growth, and even of maturity, for the Car
ter presidency. It represents a transition
from the mentality of campaigning to the
consciousness of governing, from striking a
pose to taking a stand.
Candidly, there is no record of consis
tency in Carter’s performance, and there
is much that is worrisome about the mix of
key players and the decision-making
mechanisms in several major policy fields,
most notably economics. But, at least on
occasion, in 1978, Carter was able over
ride those handicaps and make decisions
that were clearly presidential in character.
And that may be as hopeful a note as one
can find as we enter another year of uncer
tainty for him and this country.
(c) 1978, The Washington Post Com
pany
anesthesia
receive in their coops. This is a derivation
of a method that has long been used to
improve egg production in chickens. It has
two economic advantages.
In the first place it makes it possible for
poultry producers to reduce the intervals
between generations and breed roosters
that are fertile in 18 weeks instead of the
normal 26.
This in turn affords poultry producers a
longer time span in which to obtain fertile
eggs for use in commercial breeding.
The researchers at Tours discovered that
by lighting coops for eight hours per day,
the productivity of the roosters increased.
The lighting program also makes possible
an earlier identification of differences
precocity and fertility of roosters of the
same stock.
One disadvantage in having prolific
roosters, however, is that they must be
kept separate from hens, since there are
periods during which it is uneconomical to
produce unlimited numbers of fertile
eggs.
French scientists are further studying
the impact of different degrees of light on
roosters. They have already learned that
electric bulbs of various voltages affect
roosters differently depending among
other things on the age of the fowl.
A question being faced at the moment is
whether the same methods can be applied
to other species, such as guinea fowl and
turkey cocks.
The ultimate aim of all these experi
ments, of course, is to satisfy the taste buds
of French gastronomists and to swell the
pocketbooks of French breeders. Thus
scientific research here has a practical
purpose -and that, too, is very French.
(Raymond writes on science and
technology for the Agence France-Presse,
the French News Agency.)
‘Acu-pincer* used for barnyard surgery
French vet can operate without
Top of the NewsCI
CAMPUS
With no:
Silver Taps set for Earley naSnland C
md profess
Silver Taps services have been set for Jan. 17 for Texas A&M eady for £
University freshman Andrew Sinclair Earley, killed in a local traffic rain Chine
mishap Dec. 13. Earley, 18, was a marine biology major from aid medici
Ardmore, Pa. Texas A&M officials said Silver Taps, the traditional University
student memorial, was designated for a Wednesday night, instead of rom the Oi
the usual Tuesday night ceremony, to avoid conflicts with other uni- “VVe will
versity activities. Earley, son of the Dr. Laurence Earley family of indents wl
Ardmore, is the fifth student fatality of the current academic year, n Western
nedieine,”
Singing Cadets to go on tour if a scientii
5 days in (
The Singing Cadets will perform in nine Texas cities during the He said t
next week. The annual 10-day chartered bus holiday tour will include -hina sec
nine concerts and a sermon-in-song. Director Robert L. Boone said Vestern-st
the cadets will sing in cities ranging from Jasper to Tyler. The 62- 'Ut the ma
member group opens Jan. 5 in Longview and ends Jan. 14 in Lufkins re older ar
First Methodist Church. The Cadets performed nine times during rained in t
the fall semester, mostly on-campus for conferences, and at the Texas ur «I Revoh
Agricultural Extension Service’s 75th anniversary meeting in Dallas, nee felt.
Now, the
^visitors <
rjn A r ■ ^ 1 ,' 1 nnerican r
»3 X /V X Jill Ere are re
jins becau:
“They ar
ave in tl
xedicine, c
Energy troubles in Dallas ETtIS
Dallas may face a brown-out if citizens do not voluntarily cut bacf eiearch'a!
consumption said a Dallas Power and Light Co. spokesman. Selectivt jchistosoni
blackouts may also be a possibility to supply adequate power for the
city of 900,000. Freezing weather has curtailed gas supplies to the
company. Recent ice storms also toppled power lines in the Dallas
area, leaving 50,(XX) homes without power. 10,000 homes remain
without power. Dallas Power and Light Co. today appealed to resi- 1
dents to voluntary curtail their use of electricity to assure an adequate
supply of power for the city of 900,000. A spokesman for the power
company warned that a "brownout was a possibility over north Texas
and that “selective blackouts are an extreme possibility” unless the
public complied with all voluntary restraints. The utility said its gas By S
supplies had been totally curtailed because of the frigid weather and Unite<
that no new supplies were available. DP&L spokesman Ray Ward VVASHIN
said other electric companies in the state “are in the same boat. All e Parting s
power companies in north and south Texas are making public appeals u ' s hing thi
for cooperation.” ■> but noi
i|ut joinii
"‘#*s.
As always
NATION p-
t’ *w, if ai
1 i retiren
High winds shut highway
A 50-mile section of freeway in San Diego and Imperial counties in son
California remained barricaded Tuesday after gusty high winds flip- though
ped vehicles on Monday. No injuries were reported but the Califor- ur >til J.
nia Highway Patrol said hundreds of motorists returning from the HV sen v
holiday weekends were stranded.The section was officially closed at 3 hy tl
5:50 p.m. Monday. The highway patrol said three trailers and nine numb
passenger cars were flipped by 70-to-90 mile an hour gusts along .° ls a
Interstate 8, between Alpine and Ocotillo. Ocotillo Fire Department ln ^ t le
Chief Burr Seeley said the station remained open throughout the ^ a ®
night serving free coffee and providing shelter for some of the < ^ ° ,cc
. ■ . * * newer
motorists. w
t- rnier
;0'|ont., w
WORLD [H?
v creati
Teng hopes to meet senator ?ca%,°L
iat com
Chinese Vice Premier Teng Hsiao-ping wants to “sit down and / this ye
have a talk with Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, informed sources late Sen
said. Teng made his offer during a discussion with Rep. Thomas
Ashley, D-Ohio on New Year’s Day. Teng’s offer was made in re- ^
spouse to Goldwater’s threat to launch a court case against President I
Carter for breaking off the U.S. defense pact with Taiwan and nor *-
malizing relations with the Communist government on the Chinese «
mainland. Ashley, chairman of the House subcommittee on banking. I
heads a nine-man congressional delegation currently visiting China JILJ"
Teng said he hoped to talk with Goldwater on his scheduled official
visit to the United States in mid-January — the first by any Chinese rjq a,N
official since the Nationalists lost to the Communists and were driven j era t ur ,
to Taiwan in 1949. Teng, officially the secondranking Communist ^ R e <ri,
Party official after Chairman Hua Kuofeng, is considered the most[I? f" '
powerful man in the country. ^f
German ‘vampire’ arrested 1^"?
Director
Police in Frankfurt, West Germany, have arrested a modem-da; uesday sai
vampire and said the 22-year-old suspect has admitted he sometimes Brve Q f a b,
drank the blood of teen-age girls he lured to his apartment. Police tiro wn ou t
said Tuesday they searched the man’s apartment and arrested himi the facili
after a 15-year-old girl charged he enticed young girls to his apart-1 record 1
ment, drugged them, abused them sexually and drank their blood-lt-kup gen
Police, who withheld the man’s name pending his formal arraign he refriger
ment, said a search of his apartment revealed marijuana and other The temj
drugs and large hypodermic needles bearing smears of dried blood uesday pf,
ecord for a
WEATHER fo
he blood b;
_ . . ... . . ,,f blood on
Partly cloudy with a high in the mid 40 s and a low in the mid 0 ne there ’
30’s. Winds will be southeasterly at 10-15 mph. 20% chance lecause the
of rain Thursday. toes not ha
He said h
' ■ '■ “/ere expect
o help bui
rw-i TY eserves ai
The Battalion ^gency
iank would
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