The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, June 19, 1979, Image 1

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Battaoon
Tuesday, June 19, 1979
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Weather
Partly cloudy skies and warm with
no sight of rain. High today in the
low 90’s and a low of 74. Winds
will be S.E. at 10-15 m.p.h.
iased
pting
5 Tax.
to 7:
SALT II requires
loviets to scrap
several weapons
_ United Press International
m WASHINGTON — In conjunction with
jQtatoejjBpT II, the Soviet Union Monday for the
f one ilX ^* me revea ^ et ^ t ^ ie exact s * ze °f its nu ~
. L., 0II! Br arsenal with figures that vary slightly
I t® « U.S. estimates.
aa am s. negotiators consider the divulging
3 or lea Htrategic military secrets to be an un-
Hcdented break with the traditional
joviet Union’s silence about details of its
is destruction weapons.
!he figures contained in the strategic
® s treaty package show the Soviets have
®eased the number of their land and
■based launchers equipped to fire mul-
-jpli warhead missiles (MIRVs) by a total
~jf44 since last Nov. 1.
^Bhe Soviets state that they have now
^,388 land-based ICBM launchers, which
Hvo under the 1,400 estimate used by
■United States for the number of active,
Hrable Soviet launchers.
■be numbers are included in two
os attached to the treaty which give
i SPEC!
id EVEN!
^KEYDt
ed with
“rry Sautt
ad Dresi
Bread-Bj
; or Tea
t Gravy
:hoice of
egetable
reaty shows
weakness,
ys VFW
United Press International
AKE CHARLES, La. — A Veterans of
leign Wars commander has told the
%0i isiana VFW the proposed SALT II
»ty between the Soviet Union and the
Hited States is a symbol of U.S. weak-
aess.
■.C. Selman, VFW national junior vice
■imander in chief, told the Louisiana
■t’s annual awards banquet Saturday
■bt that SALT II is “a symbol of phased
■render by the United States. ”
■In the last 20 years, the situation has
changed to the point that we are no longer
suivwe are the strongest military nation in
(w world today,” said Selman, of
Freeport, Texas.
Bie said the first SALT treaty “has not
Hsed the Soviets to alter their spending
for defense.”
■Today, the Russians are capable of and
bre building military equipment that may
not equal our technology in some
egories, but it is not far behind,” Sel
in said.
[We in the VFW question how much, if
/, the present SALT agreement has de-
Yed the Soviets in their determined
ive for military supremacy. A good
LT II agreement would be helpful and
iirable but, from the information we
/e been able to obtain so far about the
n SALT agreement, and their adven-
ism around the world, we would have
pppose it.”
selman also criticized the military for
dining to renew the draft.
‘The all-volunteer armed forces is a fail-
Selman said. He said 40 percent of
se entering the army are eliminated in
ic training.
the starting point — known as “data base”
— for the limits placed on both sides in the
strategic arms agreement.
In the 1972 SALT I agreement, the
Soviets refused to give their own count of
their missiles and merely signified, by si
lence, that the U.S. intelligence estimates
were correct.
U.S. negotiators told the Soviets that
the Senate would not accept that proce
dure for the far more complex SALT II
treaty.
In one memo, the Soviets confirm that
576 of their landbased missiles were
equipped with MIRVs on Nov. 1, 1978.
But by the time of Monday’s signing, the
number, according to a second memo, had
grown to 608 land-based missiles with
multiple warheads.
Similarly, the number of Soviet
submarine-launched missiles with MIRVs
grew by 16, from 128 to 144, signifying the
deployment of one new submarine with 16
launching tubes since Nov. 1.
The Soviet statement says they have 156
bombers classified as “heavy” under the
rules of the treaty (which exempt the so-
called “Backfire” bomber because of the
Soviet pledge that it will be used as a
medium-range weapon). U.S. estimates
had put the number of Soviet heavy bom
bers at 150.
Also excluded from the Soviet total are
120 Soviet tankers, anti-submarine and
long-range reconnaissance planes, which
use the same air-frame as some bombers,
but are fitted out for specialized missions
and do not carry bombs.
If the treaty is ratified, the Soviets will
have to scrap 254 of their missile launchers
or heavy bombers by the beginning of
1982, in order to get under the SALT II
limit of 2,250.
The United States would not have to
scrap any of its weapons in order to get
under the SALT II limits.
WH vri c
United Press Iat*rnation«i
VIENNA, Austria — President
Carter and Soviet leader Leonid I.
Brezhnev Monday signed a historic
treaty aimed at averting nuclear
holocaust and the American leader
called it "a victory in the battle for
peace.”
To roars of applause, the two
presidents then hugged and kissed
and toasted the pact with cham
pagne.
Carter said the signing of the
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
(SALT II) meant “a victory is here
for all,” but he warned, “the threat
of nuclear holocaust still hangs over
r>
us.
Brezhnev said the agreement de
fended man’s most sacred right
“the right to live.”
The world's two most powerful
men then headed home after their
four-day summit, Brezhnev to se
cure rubber-stamp appoval of the
treaty from the Soviet parliament,
Carter to face a tough Senate fight
for ratification.
Brezhnev already has warned that
any Senate tampering with the
treaty provisions could destroy it,
with “grave and even dangerous
consequences for our relations and
for the situation in the world as a
whole.”
The signing ceremony, in the
huge ballrom of the ornate Hofburg
Palace, climaxed a weekend summit
which brought Carter and the ail
ing, 72-vear-old Brezhnev together
for the first time.
Despite outspoken differences,
the summit was characterized by
American officials as friendly and
substantive.
The Hofburg ballroom, where
five emperors met in the Congress
of Vienna in 1814 and where Lud
wig Von Beethoven premiered his„
7th symphony, was packed with dip
lomats, goverment officials and the
press.
In a ceremony that lasted 35 min-
• utes including speeches, the leaders
put their signatures 16 times to the
four documents that make up the
treaty. Carter grinned broadly and
the Kremlin leader smiled. Aides on
both sides beamed.
The two men then rose, em
braced and kissed each other
warmly on both cheeks in the Euro
pean manner.
Senate
tampering
JL C!!^
Assembled military leaders, dip
lomats and government officials
burst into roars of applause.
Carter said “Each of us has only
one nation. We both share the same
world. Not one nation on this earth,
not one people, not one human
being is harmed, threatened or de
prived by this victory in the battle
for peace. A victory is here for all.
"In setting our hands to this
treaty, we set our nations on a safer
course.”
But Carter reminded his listeners
that the Soviet Union and the
United States had weapons that
could cause unimaginable devasta
tion, He said, “Today, the threat of
nuclear holocaust still hangs over us,
' as it has for more than 30 years.”
Brezhnev said, “In signing this
1 treaty we are helping to defend the
most sacred right of every man —
the right to live.
“By concluding the SALT II
treaty we are taking a major step
forward along the road of overall
improvement of Soviet-American
(relations and consequently of the
entire international climate,”
Treaty limits missile numbers
imposes ceilings on warheads
United Press International
VIENNA, Austria —- The major
‘provisions of the SALT II treaty be
tween the United States and the
Soviet Union are:
—A ceiling of 2,250 strategic
missiles or bombers for both sides
by the end of 1981. Both sides must
be down to 2,400 within six months
of the treaty going into effect.
—-Within the ceiling, no more
than 1,320 missiles and bombers
Jmay be equipped with multiple
■warheads or cruise missiles. Within
•'that subceiling, there will be no
•more than 1.2KK) landbased, sea-
based or air-to-surface ballistic
missiles. Within that subceiling, no
more than 820 land-based ICBMs
with multiple warheads will be
permitted.
—Soviets to dismantle 270
strategic missiles to get down to the
initial 2,400 ceiling.
—Soviets to stop production and
deployment of the SS-16 strategic
missile.
—Both sides may construct and
deploy a single new type of strategic
missile.
—Both sides accept limits on the
number of warheads they can place
on their new missile — no more
than 10 on a landbased strategic
missile, no more than 14 on a sea-
based missile.
—Cruise missiles carried on
heavy bombers would not be lim
ited in range, but other cruise
missiles (launched from the ground
or ships or tactical fighters) are lim
ited to a range of 366 miles.
—A treaty banning antiballistic
% missile systems, signed in 1972, re
mains in effect.
—A protocol to the main agree
ment restricts both sides from de
ploying land-based mobile ICBMs,
sea-launched and ground-launched
strategic cruise missiles and ICBMs
carried aloft in aircraft until after
Dec. 31, 1981.
—The agreement will be
monitored by U.S. and Soviet spy
satellites and other intelligence
means.
—A “Backfire” letter in which the
Soviets agree not to deploy the
swing-wing Backfire bomber against
the United States at Arctic bases,
nor increase its current production
beyond the present rate, judged by
the United States to be 30 per year.
Laetrile forbidden in interstate commerce
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Supporters of Laet
rile as a cancer treatment lost a major
round at the Supreme Court Monday in
the battle to halt government interference
with its distribution.
The justices ruled unanimously that
terminally ill patients have no special right
to obtain Laetrile through interstate com
merce. This reversed an appeals court in
Denver which decided the substance did
not fall under the safety and effectiveness
requirements of the Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act.
However, the high court’s decision ap
parently leaves intact — at least temporar
ily — a court injunction permitting per
sons “certified” by a physician as termi
nally ill to receive Laetrile by injection.
And, since it deals with interstate dis
tribution, the ruling does not affect 20
states which have approved Laetrile for
sale and use within their borders.
Glen Rutherford of Conway Springs,
Kan., who brought the suit, expressed “ut
ter disbelief’ at the decision in the matter
of the bitterly controversial drug made
from a substance in the pits of apricots.
“They have decided that the greed for
the dollar is greater than the value of the
human life, that 75,000 North Americans
are consigned to a long, lingering, suffer
ing death,” he said.
Rutherford, 62, was diagnosed in 1971
as having intestinal cancer and claims
Laetrile treatments have kept him alive.
But Donald Kennedy, commissioner of
the Food and Drug Administration, called
the high court’s decision “an important
victory for consumers.”
Kennedy said it “upholds an absolutely
fundamental element of our drug regu
latory system which requires that drugs be
shown safe and effective before marketing
and that all patients, including the termi
nally ill, are entided to equal protection. ”
Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote for the
court: “For the terminally ill, as for anyone
else, a drug is unsafe if its potential for
inflicting death or physical injury is not
offset by the possibility of therapeutic
benefit.’’
There is “no special provision” in the
law “for drugs used to treat terminally ill
patients,” he said, and nothing which
“suggests that Congress intended proteion
only for persons suffering curable dis
eases.”
In fact, Marshall said, during its debate
on the legislation “Congress expressed
concern that individuals with fatal illness,
such as cancer, should be shielded from
fraudulent cures.”
The ruling does not appear to affect
plans by the National Cancer Institute to
test Laetrile on cancer patients at several
medical centers.
The Supreme Court declined to rule on
two aspects of the case: whether the con
stitutional protection of privacy allows
Laetrile use, and whether 1962 food and
drug law amendments “grandfathered”
Laetrile into the marketplace without
meeting the safety and effectiveness tests
required for new drugs.
Although Oklahoma federal Judge
Luther Bohanon ruled in favor of Laetrile
proponents on these two points, the 10th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sidestepped
the issue and allowed Laetrile use on dif
ferent grounds.
According to FDA lawyers, the high
court’s opinion signaled the appeals court
to resolve those questions in the govern
ment’s favor, allowing the FDA to con
tinue regulating sale and distribution
across state lines.
Bryan gas rates to
increase 11 percent
By LOUIE ARTHUR
Battalion Stall
The Bryan City Council unanim
ously passed the first reading of a
two-step plan to increase gas rates
11 percent in an emergency council
meeting Monday afternoon.
The ordinance will be read a sec
ond time at the regular council ses
sion June 25 and if passed, the new
rates could go into effect July 25
pending approval of the rate in
crease by Lone Star Gas Company.
Lone Star Gas local manager Al
Bartley said he would recommend
acceptance of the rate hike to his
company.
“I’m pleased that the council
chose the same (rate) schedule as
College Station,” Bartley said, “but
I am disappointed that they only
gave us 64 percent of what we re
quested.”
Under the new plan, customers
would pay a $2 base rate per month
and $1.9979 per 1000 cubic feet.
Bartley said the company’s cus
tomer analysis studies show that the
average customer uses 8000 cubic
feet a month, making the new aver
age monthly bill $17.98. This is an
increase of $1.04 over the current
average monthly bill of $16.94.
The impact of the new rate in
crease would be felt most by com
mercial users. The base rate for
commercial users would be $4, with
the same consumption schedule of
$1.9979 per 1000 cubic foot.
The plan chosen. Schedule B, was
one of three presented to the coun
cil and was recommended by the
city staff and Bartley. The others
were one- and five-step plans and
would have cost Lone Star Gas cus
tomers more than the proposed
schedule.
“I personally recommend
Schedule B,” Bartley told council
members. “It takes the burden off
the low consumer. These customers
are my friends and I have to live
with them.”
The new rate hike means an
added $458,240 in revenues for
Lone Star Gas, 36 percent less than
the original $716,000 originally pro
posed. “You’re taking very good
care of your constituents, ” Bartley
told the council.
Crews work to repair
crack in Alaskan pipeline
Somebody please help me outta here
Pepper, a fox terrier puppy, decides to think twice next time
before accepting owner Steve Tetschki’s invitation to swim.
Getting wet is not his thing.
Battalion photo by Mary Anne Snowden.
United Press International
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Emergency
pipeline crews worked Monday to fit a
metal sleeve over a thin crack in the
southern section of the $9 billion Trans-
Alaska pipeline high in the Chugach
Mountains north of Valdez.
The metal sleeve was forged in Anchor
age and flown to the site of the crack late
Sunday night, said John Ratterman, man
ager of public affairs for Alyeska Pipeline
Co.
Workers Saturday placed a temporary
clamp over the 3-inch-long, hairline crack
to squelch the thin stream of crude oil that
was spraying out at a rate of about 10 gal
lons a minute.
The leak, the second such break found
in the 800-mile pipeline in less than a
week, was discovered during a routine
surveillance flight by an Alyeska helicop
ter, the company said.
By Saturday evening, a pool of more
than 1,600 gallons of black crude had col
lected in a hollow between the pipeline,
buried five feet underground.
The leak in Isabel Pass was discovered
about 2 a.m. Saturday and by 4:30 a.m.,
workers had excavated around the pipe
and discovered the line had also buckled.
However, the pipeline was not shut down.