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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1979)
Opinion Misery, here’s company We’re not exactly sure why 673 people signed a letter to Ma Bell that was posted around campus. We suspect each one had his own reason(s), but maybe your Monday will be a little happier knowing that some body else shares your occasional disgust with this particular phone company. DEAR MA BELL; H£LP // r.s.v.p. Dip«JSTED) (with GTE), ' g7 'fluJuL /3>*4^ , { i>A y SjZ[s<?s t r JltrtrYntp, \r< „ ( 'Trt.frfaf./ (‘ C / ^ su Li— r ) /cL^ (^\ j ') ) I p J C5 --'£-c* t r' - <■ n\dP*kr fc t t'lOoi m^r- ' •" O' 1 Q|<' J ^ <v)f\(0 5a tWigt; .rTTf >'" ' tv.. • .i « > i (j. frXi "(VMl- l A / ( "1 ^5 v<. n^- tA /A c cL*o ^ v ' t’m.fyxA'W XfJtPi If _ Pj2.C^O'’V. . , ‘' 3 ^ • >S5/)^y 0/ $1 >*-k ^ - Co? i-^y 'fXoO'VU ^ C Iki uGjl^v ^— Q,,,. fc^A/Dy ''<^| j A/<J 8^ ^ '<r^. C 5 y raU^jwl y The Battalion U S P S 045 360 LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday Periods and the summer, when it is published on Tuesday hrough Thursday. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full year. Advertising rates furnished on request. Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusively to the use for reproduction of all news dispatches credited to it. Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein reserved. Second-Class postage paid at College Station, TX 77843. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Liz Newlin Managing Editor Andy Williams Asst. Managing Editor Dillard Stone News Editors . .Karen Cornelison and Michelle Burrowes Sports Editor Sean Petty City Editor Roy Bragg Campus Editor Keith Taylor Focus Editors Beth Calhoun and Doug Graham Staff Writers . . Meril Edwards, Diane Blake, Louie Arthur, Richard Oliver, Mark Patterson, . Carolyn Blosser, Kurt Allen Photo Editor . . .Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Photographers Lynn Blanco, Clay Cockrill, Sam Stroder, Ken Herrerra Cartoonist Doug Graham Regents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self- supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and community newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. Viewpoint The Battalion Texas A&M University Monday October 1, 1979 Carter’s wit abounds at town meetin United Press International WASHINGTON — Backstairs at the White House: candidate and seems to be happy cam paigning — even if he isn’t calling it that. — President Carter says he will formally announce his intentions to run for re- eection “later in the fall. ” But the only surprise will b© if be doesn’t announce. Carter has set up the Carter-Mondale Campaign Committee. He told a “town meeting” in New York that he plans to run in every presidential primary. And Mrs. Carter’s aides are handing out cards on the campaign trail asking suppor ters if they would like to have neighborood fund raising parties the day the president announces for re-election. Carter has discussed the date with Vice President Walter Mondale and his senior staffers. So far the word on the date has not leaked. The president probably will be an nouncing a little sooner than he had planned because he is under pressure of his supporters. But more and more he is acting like a candidate and talking like a — Cabinet officials who got booted out of the administration are crying all the way to the bank. Several are on the lecture circuit, com manding as much as $10,000 a speech. Former White House chief of staff Ale xander Haig, who apparently has presi dential ambitions, is asking for $12,000 an appearance — the same amount as his former boss, Henry Kissinger. — The president does not hold economists in too high esteem, especially since he has been in the White House. To him they do not have the ready answers to the most troubling domestic issue of the day — inflation. A young man told Carter at the New York “town meeting” that he was studying economics and accounting. “I want to be a politician,” he said. “I don’t know which is worse right now, to be an economist, or a politician,” Carter quipped. Carter’s wit often comes through during the “town meetings.” The New York session was opened by a man who said: “Mr. President, this is a great honor. My name is Nicholas Gray. I live in Manhattan and I own a store there called Gray’s Papaya. We are famous for our better filet mignon frankfurters. ” “My name is Jimmy Carter,” the presi dent replied. “I am president of the United States. I grow peanuts, so eat peanut butter.” Carter told the audience not to be “timid” with their questions, but one questioner was nearly hooted out of the auditorium when he asked about Carter’s more running contests. TBephotojj Carter being held up by hisdocte Secret Service agent was not the they are trying to project for him Sports Illustrated paid a hefty tsp for the photo in a field where then many press bidders. jogging. “Welcome to New York, Mr. President. You look great,” he said. “I wonder if you would take a couple of minutes to tell us about your jogging hab its and how you are feeling in general since your (foot) race in Maryland last week. Carter, who suffered heat exhaustion and had to drop out of a 6-mile race, said he ran as much as 5 miles a day and had no plans to stop. There are indications that some of Car ter’s aides prefer he not participate in any — A White House policeman\il| guards an area where the presideal pass to get to the Oval Office got as the other day. For two years, Carter has without a nod of recognition or morning. ” But on this day, Carter gave t hand wave. The policeman turned aroundtos was meant for someone else, — The Secret Service agents guarding Sen. Edward Kenned; their way around. There are no rooli the detail. Soon many of the presidential dates will have agents guarding the agency will be taxed formanjw it is every four years. DICK WEST Anthony silver dollar goes over like a lead balloon (and a $2 bill) By DICK WEST United Press International WASHINGTON — The new Susan B. Anthony silver dollar, which is made of copper and nickel, has, from all reports, bombed. The coin, minted with such fanfare a few months ago, is proving about as popular as the $2 bill, the latest paper money flop. I gather that if someone conducted a popularity poll, the Anthony dollar would run about even with President Carter. And perhaps for similar reasons. Political analysts say Carter doesn’t act “presidential” enough. And in Las Vegas and other financial centers, monetary analysts are saying the Anthony coin isn’t sufficiently “dollarish. They say the coin’s size, slightly larger than a quarter but smaller than a half- dollar, militates against its acceptance. In the logical order of progression, a dollar would be bigger than a 50-cent piece, they point out. But if logical progression were vital to a coin’s popularity, what of the dime? Our 10-cent piece is smaller than both the penny and the nickel, yet is universally loved and admired. The problem with a bureaucratic miscalculation of this sort is that is is rather difficult to cover up. When currency lays a egg, there is ,no place to hide. So the Treasury Department has decided to tough it out. A Treasury task force recommended last week that the $1 bill be retired, thus giving the Anthony dollar and the $2 bill a clear field. However, that proposal has drawn strong congressional opposition, including an unkind comment by Rep. Frank Annunzio, D-Ill., who described the Susan B. as a legal tender “turkey.” In the circumstances, the Treasury might do well to consider an alternate plan that I believe will satisfy all concerned. Rather than quit making the ever-popular $1 bill, which has fan clubs all over the world, what they should do is scuttle the $2 bill and convert the Anthony dollar into a $2 coin. I don’t see how that could miss. Or they can simply wait for a few more rounds of inflation, after which the Anthony dollar and the quarter, already nearly equal in size, will be of almost equal value — both practically worthless. Slouch by Jim Eai Vice CONGRATULATIONS CHANCELLOR FRANK HUBERT An ag cquisitit If sorgln egetabli hould b dentist xperim Dr. F ionally earch 1< WcM U ation fi Window Pope’s stand on abortion is more likely to benefit Carter campaign than Kennedy ive-wee mblic ol ‘Our i United Press International WASHINGTON — Whatever the legal merits of Madalyn Murray O’Hair’s objec tion to the use of public facilities to ac commodate Pope John Paul II, her politi cal judgment about the pope’s visit seems completely out of whack. In announcing her constitutional chal lenge to use of the Mall in Washington for a Roman Catholic mass next Sunday, Mrs. O’Hair said the pontiffs visit was timed to “enhance the intended presidential candi dacy” of Kennedy and to promote passage of a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion. Mrs. O’Hair might be correct in assum ing that the pope will speak out against abortion during his weeklong visit to the United States. But it is hard to see how that could help Kennedy, who does not favor the proposed constitutional amend ment and is viewed as a pro-abortionist in some quarters. It might be argued that it would help Kennedy politically in a Protestant major ity country to be out of step with the pope (just as John Kennedy opposed federal aid to parochial schools), but that requires a level of deviousness that not even presi dential politics usually achieves. It is far more likely that the senator would be just as happy if the issue never came up. It is easier to see, in fact, how the pope’s visit will be more of a boost to President Carter than to Kennedy. According to Pat Cadell’s mea surements, Southern Baptist activist Car ter is not particularly liked by American Catholics, who have been a traditional heavy voting Democratic bloc. Carter’s decision to become the first president to invite a pope to the White House can’t hurt him among the Catholic electorate. The fact that Carter decided to transform what could have been a quiet, proforma event into a major reception can only serve to increase whatever political benefits the president might reap from the visit. Unless the pope changes the style he displayed in his trips to Mexico and Po land, he can be expected to bluntly ad dress issues, political or otherwise, that the church feels it has a stake in. The church certainly feels it has a stake in the abortion issue and if the pope ad dresses himself to it, Kennedy is not likely to be the hero of the piece. Kennedy is no advocate of abortion on demand, but like Carter, he is the constitutional amendment route favors making “alternatives’’ to ata available to women who have uiw pregnancies. This is totally unaccefi to anti-abortion militants and Kenne) one of the senators they have under heavy fire. An anti-abortion newsletter rrca P said, “If Kennedy is IT next year, it* merely mean one pro-abortionist repk ^ ( 101 another atop the Democratic tick “Certainly nobody would quibble ^ calling Teddy proabortion: He’s the I seaie h e sonification of the T’m personally opp* but’ baloney, the Lifeletter oftheAd Committee in Defense of Life said in 37 votes on abortion, Kennedy cal “solid pro-abortion votes.” Letters Hunters support the wildlife departmen so don’t criticize them, buy a duck stam Editor: Now that hunting season is here again the usual protests are starting to be heard, fallacies such as: sport hunting is cruel, sport hunting is destructive, sport hunting leads to extinction of species, etc. Those who sponsor such attacks are usu ally urbanized “indoor” types who know little of wildlife except through Walt Dis ney films, and who recoil at the idea that some “cruel” people perfer to collect their own meat instead of having a tucher do it for them (which is less cruel, of course). These same people ignore the fact that the nations first conservationists were hunters, men such as the great naturalists Ernest Thompson Seton and John J. Audi- bon and President Theodore Roosevelt, to name of few. Anyone who wishes to make a lasting contribution to the nation’s wildlife can do so: buy a hunting license or a federal Mi gratory Bird (duck) stamp. The money hunters spend for their Texas hunting licenses goes to the financially be leaguered Texas Parks and Wildlife De partment, whose major source of revenue is hunting sales. Hunting license revenues pay for wildlife biologists, enforcement of ficers, habitat aquisition, scientific studies and myriad other important projects. On the national level. Duck Stamp revenues pay for many of the same things as state hunting licenses. Since 1937, duck and goose hunters have provided over 300 mil lion dollars for such things as migratory waterfowl habitat aquisition, wetlands pro tection and migration studies through their purchase of the stamps. Wildlife conservations requires large amounts of money; buy a license orak cu 11W HI 1L o IlH^llCY, IJLiy cl injdiac ui a" 1 Stamp and help out. If anyone isunw ave P< bmi to do this, at lease don’t attack us we’ve been footing the bill for wildlife 1 servation for years. — Gregory K. THOXZ HfyNiye/te,^ WELL, IF IT ISN'T AGRICULTURE X 1X)N'T WANT TO 55 W‘ MESS WITH m by Doug Graham rraiF 'We'ul Do tSe' USUAL... PM_M PROBLEM OfFOt ■K. THE Debl the sta an aut dated \ and liv listene B' Gasolir se in Se mption infor alers ai The av tudy an sfgermj rops. Si ant Ch being re bffieial p ache. “Folk ine, the ncrease ributei hrough aid. “The Varieties our tour The < ment J newly ai the Chi and trac that stil Add in food Chines' amount land. H the qua in g,’’ M Perl efits to study o fullest were h s °rghu grain, t residue foel,” 1 Milk to servi tific ex visit. I the ne’ involve lists of Mill, oers vi ricultu] ductior dong, other j