Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 1979)
iThe Battalion lantis, tlielj Her, althi iosa the m\i|l id but aja )cean: 'fie, in Ci Atlantic, "l Weather Occasional rain today with thundershowers. High 78° today with 80 percent chance of rain today and 50% chance of rain tomorrow. . 73 No. 12 12 Pages Tuesday, September 18, 1979 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 lafinedAl inentiorf Daniken, ^ he lost w«l space visit) aniken wi the startfe 'gical reniii; imon orite he said, i the Ai t . he sinldiiji adueed iFord says he can beat wf ^ arter, and may try mi as se United Press International TULSA, Okla. — Former President lerald Ford says he could beat President er in a presidential election if it was eld today and that there is some possibil- he will try it in 1980. OV Interviewed Sunday prior to teeing off hntorinil t the Annual Roy Clark Celebrity Golf lassie, Ford said, “If the 1976 election ihisehroi* 'ere held again today, I believe we would of Crete,! ire much better. The polls indicate I mild win. Ford also did not rule out the possibility [running as the Republican candidate for esident in 1980. “My position on running will be influ- nced by whether or not I think I can be to the Republican party and the ountry,” Ford said. However, he said he “not a candidate now and do not plan to be in the upcoming election. “If I do not run, I have made it known that I will not criticize nor openly support any certain candidate,” Ford said. “How ever, I believe the GOP has several capa ble persons.” Ford also sharply criticized Carter Ad ministration policy toward Soviet troops in Cuba. “I hope he (Carter) is stronger with the Russians than it seems he is in the press reports. ” The former president also speculated on what he would do if he was still in the White House. “If I were president, the Soviets would not have gambled with putting combat brigade troops in Cuba because they were well aware of my. stand,” he said. “I would immediately call for their removal.” He denied Administration reports that Soviet combat troops were in Cuba while he was president because “intelligence would have let us know if such was the case.” “It is an incorrect statement that the troops were already in Cuba when Carter became president,” he said. Ford called Carter’s economic policy “a disaster” and said the SALT II treaty needs further analysis. “When we left office, inflation was at 4.8 (percent), employment was up and unem ployment down,” Ford said. “Inflation now is at 13 (percent) and rising, and un employment is on a skyrocket. “Unfortunately, I see no change hap pening in the next 12 months.” About SALT II, he said it needs further analysis in relationship to national defense because he sees no reason for “putting a price on that security.” ontract with A&M. in mail Ali booked through ‘friend’ w By TODD HEDGEPETH Battalion Reporter It’s not every day that Texas A&M Uni- ersity hosts a speaker with the stature of x-heavyweight champion Muhammad lli. But next Tuesday is such a day. How did it all come about? In May, MSC Great Issues Committee leard that Ali had giving speeches around he country. Its members became in- erested, Great Issues Chairman Dan tyre said. “Weapproached MSC Black Awareness lommittee and they were also in- erested,” Ayre said. “We started check- ig around to see how we could get in such with Mr. Ali.” The two groups got a lucky break when ley made contact with a friend of All’s in louston who helps Ali schedule speaking ngagements in the Texas area. Ayre said the group talked with the man nd learned in the middle of August that iwas interested in coming here. So the two committees immediately tarted working on the itinerary, contract nd publicity drive. Ayre said the signed ontract from Ali is in the mail now. Asked how much it cost to bring Ali to he University, Ayre said only that it 'asn t as much as Ali is usually paid. I don’t think Ali was lured by the mount of money, Ayre said. “He just eemedso interested in speaking about his >pic.” The topic is “Future World Peace, ” not the average subject discussed by ex- jeavyweight champions. But Ayre thinks [(couldn’t be more appropriate. “Ali’s visibility in the public eye is un latched worldwide,” Ayre said. “He ®els a great deal and often meets with laders of other countries. ” Ayre said Ali has always worried about wld problems. A good example came ve years ago when Ali donated $100,000 i help relieve the suffering caused by a ngthy drought in South Africa. In the past year, Ali has spoken at the nited Nations about world hunger and has formed an organization to raise money to help promote world peace. Ali will fly to College Station from Los Angeles. He will speak at G. Rollie White Col iseum at 8 p.m. and there will be a public reception at Rudder Exhibit Hall im mediately afterwards. Tickets are on sale at Rudder Box Of fice. Prices are $2 for Texas A&M students and $2.50 for non-students. Following Ali in Great Issues’ line-up of fall speakers will be Ross Terrill, author of “Eight-hundred Million: The Real China” and an authority on U. S.-China relations. He will speak on “The Future of China after Mao,” Oct. 4 at 8 p.m. David Halberstam, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of the best selling book “The Powers That Be,” will speak on “The Political and Social Power of the Media” Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. in Rudder Theater. 18 fashionable homes burned by brush fire United Press International LOS ANGELES — Hot, wind-whipped flames devoured 18 expensive hillside homes in Laurel Canyon before they were corralled by 300 firefighters and bombing runs by a fleet of water-dropping aircraft. Another house suffered major damage and one garage was destroyed. The fire in Hollywood Hills was only one of 10 brush blazes still smoldering throughout Southern California while fire crews arrived from Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico and Arizona. “This whole part of the country is going up in smoke,” U.S. Forest Service spokesman Gene Knight said. By late Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Basin lay under a pall of smoke. Hillside residents armed with garden hoses stood atop their homes in a desper ate attempt to protect them from the flames that consumed 120 acres in the affluent, densely-populated area. The fire, started by four children play ing with skyrockets in the brush, was dis covered at 2:45 p.m. and was contained Government drops suit H-bomb info printed United Press International The Progressive of Madison, VVis., and other publications today were free to print secrets of the hy drogen bomb, but the government may file criminal charges against some of those involved in exposing sensitive data. The Justice Department an nounced Monday it was dropping suits seeking to bar The Progressive of Madison, Wis., and the Daily Californian of Berkeley from pub lishing H-bomb data — because a Wisconsin newsper printed similar material on Sunday. Terrence Adamson, a department spokesman, said when a Madison newspaper, the Press Connection, circulated 8,000 copies of its special issue Sunday, the department’s six-month legal fight for censorship of the nuclear secrets became futile. The Press Connection carried a letter from Charles Hansen, a California computer programmer, that included a diagram and list of key components of an H-bomb. The letter had been sent to Sen. Charles Percy, R-Ill., and was dis tributed to a number of newspapers. Adamson said “the material pub lished in Madison has been widely disseminated” and “is in the public domain.” Once the suits are dropped, he said, the government will no longer fight publication of any of the mate rial — and the decision to publish will be simply “a matter of editorial judgment, not legal responsibility.” Advised of the government’s de cision, a federal judge in San Fran cisco promptly dissolved his tempo rary court order against the Daily Californian. The 6-month-old Progressive case was expected to take longer to dismiss because it has already reached an appeals court. Adamson said the Justice De partment will conduct a “prelimi nary inquiry” to see if any of the dis closures warrant criminal charges for violations of federal law or for violations of the two court orders banning publication. The Atomic Energy Act provides for stiff jail terms for improper dis closure: up to life imprisonment for revealing nuclear weapons technol ogy with the intent to aid a foreign power; 10 years in jail for disclosure with the understanding the data will - help a foreign country. Adamson refused to say whether the Press Connection or Hansen — who says he got all of his information “from unclassified open sources” would be targets of the criminal in quiry. But he said the United: States has “been injured” by disclosure of the material because other countries now have access to previously “care fully guarded, restricted data.” Adamson said Hansen’s letter ex posed the three “critical concepts of thermonuclear weapons” the Justice Department was “trying to protect.” four hours later, officials said. City Fire Chief John Gerard said resi dents were lucky. “It could have been worse,” he said. “The flames started at the bottom of a grassy hill and it roared up the slope and consumed 10 houses before the first fire units even got here.” One of the 18 burned-out homes, each of which was valued at about $200,000, was owned by musician John Mayall. All that was left on Kirkwood Drive were blackened chimneys and a dozen au tomobiles gutted by flames. “I could hear the houses exploding,” said author Rod Thorp, who successfully defended his expensive home from flames licking 75 feet into the sky. “Rabbits and coyotes kept coming over the hill. It was hot and smoky but I wouldn’t leave. I stayed and I prayed. I saved my house.” Another resident also refused to leave. “I just bought this house,” said Daniel Wilson, “and I ain’t going anywhere. Tm not even sure my fire insurance is in force yet.” Police combed the winding roads, tel ling residents they should leave, and most packed cars with pets and a few belongings to await word from the command post. Some returned to ruins. Two huge “Super-Scooper” water bom bers dumped 1,500-gallon payloads of salt water across the flaming slopes, then re turned to Santa Monica Bay for re plenishment while five helicopters de luged hot spots. Beach Boys all-night vigil Anyone who has waited in line all night for football tickets to a Texas A&M game knows the feeling experienced by these folks, who camped out to buy tickets for the Sept. 30 Beach Boys concert. Mark Churilla, Kathy Smith and Susan Phillips (above) decided that reserved seats were worth a little incon venience, even if it meant sleep ing on the hard ground. Don Taylor and Churilla (right), third and first in line, respec tively, call roll for the list of re served ticket buyers. Two such calls were held in the night, at midnight and 6 a.m. Anyone not present lost his place in line. Battalion photos by Sam Strader Episcopal bishops vote to bar homosexuals from priesthood United Press International DENVER — Despite an impassioned plea against alienating a “large minority” within the 3-million member Episcopal church, governing bishops have voted to prohibit practicing homosexuals from entering the priesthood. Passage of the controversial amendment opposed to such ordinations — the most emotional issue to be considered by the church’s week-old General Convention — came after a three-hour floor debate Monday in the House of Bishops. Ap proval came on a 99-34 vote. During the heated debate one of the more than 300 in the audience began sh outing against homosexuals and had to be removed from meeting room. More on lookers tried to squeeze into the room, but were prevented because of fire regu lations. Before it can receive final approval, the resolution must be considered by the Folklore signs disagree on forecast for this winter United Press International The woolly worms and the hornets can’t agree about the coming winter. Woolly worms are sporting light brown coats and slim physiques, presaging a mild winter, but hornets are nesting near the ground, indicating more hard times. The maple trees and fruit harvests agree with the woolly worms — this winter should be an easy one. But the August fogs tend to side with the hornets — lots of snow. The consensus among nature-watching weather prognosticators, however, calls for an early but mild winter. The most vocal dissent comes from Amy Trammell, weather sage in residence at Auraria, Ga. She has spent most of her 71 years min ing for gold in the hills surrounding the Chattahoochee National Forest and reve rently looks to nature for an indication of the winter to come. August fogs are a sure sign of snow, she said. “And the hornet nests too. If they’re down low to the ground, it will be a bad winter. There are several near my house that are almost on the ground. And that’s bad.’’ Most folklore weather prognosticators agree winter will arrive early. By early September, squirrels were sporting thick red coats, inchworms were spinning busily from the oak leaves and woolly worms were afoot in their winter raiment — all signs of an early winter. But, aside from the Auraria hornets, none of the critters seemed terribly con cerned about the coming season. Crab Orchard, Tenn., weather prophet Helen Lane agrees August fogs mean snow. And, she says, winter will come early. But, all things considered, Mrs. Lane judges the winter will be compara tively mild. “The maple tree in the yard has thin leaves,” she said. “This means a mild winter compared to the 1978-79 winter of heavy snows and zero weather.” James Gillihan, archivist at Wabash Val ley College in Mount Carmel, Ill., said woolly worms in Southern Illinois are light brown and expecting a mild winter. The woolly worm caterpillars around High Ridge, Mo., are “thin, light brown with black tips,” observes veteran folklorist Helen Wohlschlager. For the past three years, the woolly worms have been fat and black — and the past three winters have been among the harshest on record. larger 904-member House of Deputies, made up of clerics and lay leaders. The resolution, expected to be considered later today by the deputies, was in the form of a recommendation for dioceses. Its key wording declares it is “not ap propriate for this Church to ordain a prac ticing homosexual or any person who is engaged in heterosexual relations outside of marriage.” Presumably, a homosexual could be or dained, provided he was willing to lead a celebate life. Among those who led the fight against the measure was Bishop Otis Charles of Salt Lake City, Utah, who said the resolu tion would be harmful to a “large minor ity” within the church. “These are an unknown number of women and men who want to be them selves,” he said. “Most of us need, in order to have life, a close intimate per sonal relationship with another person. This paragraph suggests that is not possi ble (for homosexuals). “It places an intolerable burden upon them if we adopt this resolution,” he added. “It increases guilt and despair and leads to suicide.” Also in opposition was Bishop John McGill Krumm of Cincinnati, who read a statement that he and a number of others “cannot accept these recommendations or implement them in our dioceses. To do so would be to abbrogate our responsibilities of apostolic leadership and prophetic wit ness to the flock of Christ, committed to our charge, and it would involve a repudi ation of our ordination vows as bishops. ” Several attempts were made to weaken the proposal as it came from a special committee of bishops, but the church offi cials approved the addition of only one word. Bishop Robert E. Terwilliger of Dallas was one of the most outspoken supporters of the resolution, saying it simply showed obedience to the word of the Lord. “The issue is whether the House of Bishops will have the courage to say a word against fornication,” Terwilliger said. “This is the kind of thing that pertains not only to the homosexual condition, but it pertains increasingly to the heterosexual condition. “Throughout 1900 years of Christian witness, it (morality) is not a fresh idea. To fail to pass it (the resolution) might con ceivably be fighting against God.” Bishop Charles B. Persell of Albany, N.Y., was another supporter of the mea sure, saying he was “proud to be old fashioned if that means standing for Chris tian morality. “Murders increase every year, but we re not about to legalize it,” he said. “Were told thousands and thousands of them (homosexuals) are among the clergy. So what? Does that make it good? We bet ter have some standards. God has given us a law to go by. Let’s be men enough to stand up for it.” Bishop Gerald McAlister of Oklahoma City also favored the measure, saying any other option would result in “disassociat ing ourselves from the vast majority of Christianity.” But other bishops, like Ned Cole of Syrause, N.Y., and Kilmer Myers of San Francisco, questioned how far the situa tion would go. “Are we going to have to ask the clergy in our diocese this question (if they are practicing homosexuals)?” Cole asked. “I think we have enough to do without asking prying questions into the sex lives of people who want to be ordained into our clergy.” Myers, who more than 25 years ago served as president of a New York-based group to provide help for homosexuals, said he was concerned the action would destroy pastoral relationships between bishops and homosexuals, as well as force the church into legal entrapment. “There are gay people in this house,” he said. “They haven’t admitted it, and I don’t expect they should. I hope we ll have some courage on this matter, but I doubt if we will.” Correction The story in the Friday Sept. 14 edition of the Battalion on stiffer Q-drop regulations was incorrect. The story said the colleges of Agriculture, Education, Geosciences, Liberal Arts and Science require only the approval of the student’s adviser. The story should have said all Q-drop requests require the approval of the student’s ad viser and the dean of the college the stu dent is enrolled in. The Battalion regrets the error.