THE BATTALION
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1980
Page 9
04 Rudder,
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: entered today onlyf
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lible study at 8:15p,t
Pratt will speak«:
nation
Solar flares could play
havoc with communications
Agriculture proponents
argue opposing policies
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United Press International
WASHINGTON — Sunspot
activity is at an 11-year peak, and
resulting radiation outbursts in com
ing months could touch off magnetic
storms on Earth, interrupt radio
communications and cause compu
ters to go haywire, U.S. forecasters
say.
Solar flares that are associated
with sunspots have already caused
varied problems on the Earth, in
cluding communications blackouts
for transoceanic airliners and com
munications and control problems
for satellites.
“We had one report that flare
activity might have set off a civil de
fense circuit in Canada, throwing
radio stations automatically in an
saved from destruclio; ^ alert mode,” said Gary Heckman,
)le hunter. Thisawes# head of the Space Environment Ser-
17:30 in Rudder Thet I vices Center in Boulder, Colo., in a
AY
froup will meetatSf! I
> Chapel,
m run at 5 p.m. fro*
1 Jewish Student Cent
in 302 Rudder,
neet at 7:30 p.m
a panel discussion on
ings, 2800 S. Texas
eet at 6:30 p.m. at
\ Reservations
t p.m. Monday
Kurosawa directsi
s report released Sunday.
Sunspots — dark blemishes that
appear on the solar surface — in
crease and decrease in a regular
fashion over an 11-year cycle. No one
knows why, but the most frequent
and violent solar flares usually occur
after a peak in sunspot activity.
Flares are great outbursts of radia
tion and gases from the sun. The
largest release energy equal to 10
trillion one-megaton hydrogen
bombs.
Scientists say the buildup in suns
pots during the past few months indi
cates the upcoming flare peak will be
the second most active since Galileo
discovered sunspots in the early
1600’s. The first peak was in 1957.
But the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration says
with technology advancing every
day, the practical effect on Earth of
the upcoming flare peak is likely to
be unprecedented.
Over the coming months, enor
mous solar flares are expected to
touch off “storms in the earth’s
magnetic field, which in turn play
havoc with earthly electronics,” the
agency said.
The solar flares could cause occa
sional disruptions in radio communi
cations and power transmission, hay
wire computers, even false alarms in
civil defense networks, the agency
warned.
Solar forecasters monitor the sun
and its earthly effects from the Col
orado center, operated jointly by
NOAA and the Air Force, using tele
scopes, satellites and a worldwide
network of magnetometers.
The National Aeronautics and
Space Administration launched a
satellite earlier this month to study
solar flares in an attempt to help sci
entists develop ways to predict the
occurrence of flares.
Heckman said there is new evi
dence that high-energy particles
from large solar flares could be re
sponsible for certain computer fai
lures.
The effects are not all bad, howev
er. Between flares, shortwave radio
operators sometimes enjoy unusual
ly good reception, because the high
radiation levels that accompany
sunspots strengthen the Earth’s
ionosphere, and signals can be
bounced easily into the southern
hemisphere.
The type of events caused by solar
flares happen almost every year, but
they are more frequent and more
severe during the solar maximum.
And this solar maximum, the NOAA
said, “is turning out to be one of the
most spectacular of this century.”
ymelowa grain shortage scandal
leaves farmers in bind
and a denial of the
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said.
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United Press International
DES MOINES, Iowa — Shaken
farmers in Stockport are counting
their losses from a grain shortage
scandal that has triggered the worst
elevator collapse in Iowa history, and
are wondering where they will get
the money to pull them out of their
fiscal hole.
State investigators know 1.2 mil
lion bushels of com and soybeans
that means thatpasb worth $4.3 million — were missing
from the Prairie Grain Co. the day
operator Raymond Keller shot him
self. Keller’s body was found a few
hours after state auditors arrived to
[look into reports of bad checks.
Investigators believe Keller was
peculating in the rollercoaster com-
odities market and was selling
;rain to make up for his losses.
When overdrafts, grain payments ‘
nd other debts are tallied, losses
tand at $7 million. The FBI is look-
ng into the possibility of bank fraud
hile auditors still labor over eleva-
jytor records, checking entries to see if
on^erveSbI l here are more shortages.
DRY CLEANERS BUT M:
CIAUZE IN ALTERING HM
FIT EVENING DRESSES, Tift
SHIRTS, JEAN HEMS, W
POCKETS, ETC
INS'
ones who can’t afford it — those get
ting ready to retire and the young
farmers trying to get started,” said
Sen. Forrest Schwengels, R-
Fairfield, a representative for many
of the farmers.
Some farmers lost twice — they
lost grain that was going to retire last
year’s debts and bankroll spring
planting.
Attorney General Tom Miller has
filed suit, asking for restitution by
the elevator and its stockholders.
Officials estimate, however, it will
be a year before a settlement is made
and it may be far less than what the
grain was worth.
Farmers at the local tavern sip
their beer and quietly tally their
losses.
“The farmer has to pay for this
thing,” farmer BeryT Lane said at
Passke’s Pub last week. “We were
just one big happy family around
here and then this thing. It’s bigger
than I ever thought it would be.”
Authorities say some farmers lost
tens of thousands of dollars in the
scandal that unfolded following Kel
ler’s death Jan. 31.
Now they are beginning to wonder
how Keller’s problems escaped de
tection. State law calls for two audits
a year, but there are only seven in
vestigators to handle 840 elevators.
Prairie Grain was audited in April
1979, but no problems were disco
vered. There were rumors of bad
checks last fall, but no one com
plained to state officials until late
January.
“You had a huge problem down
there and no one can overstate the
misery,” said Maurice Van Nos
trand, former chairman of the Iowa
Commerce Commission.
STORAGE
U - LOCK - IT
10 x 20 - $25
693-2339
Some farmers face an uncertain
financial condition. The traditional
deadline for land payments is March
1.
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Tom Benson
is a grain and livestock farmer from
Appleton, Minn., the son of former
Minnesota Gov. Elmer Benson. The
politically active younger Benson
supported Bob Bergland when he
was his congressman.
Benson is the treasurer of the 2 1 /2-
year-old American Agriculture
Movement which is lobbying in
Washington this month for the third
winter in a row.
Benson is adamant in his belief
that farmers need higher price sup
ports to keep from going broke, that
farmers do not make enough return
on their investment and that
prosherity in agriculture would gen
erate prosperity throughout the eco
nomy.
Bergland is a grain farmer from
Roseau, Minn, who was active in
Democratic Farmer Labor Party
politics in Minnesota, a former Na
tional Farmers Union activist and a
protege of the late Sen. Hubert
Humphrey.
Until he was appointed agricul
ture secretary, Bergland was a con
gressman for six years and a vocal
spokesman for higher farm prices.
Bergland says he gained a new
constituency when he became agri
culture secretary.
His constituents are not only
American consumers, who want the
cheapest food possible, but also peo
ple around the world, including
those from poor nations, who de
pend on American abundance for
part of their food.
Benson and Bergland have been
rubbing each other the wrong way
for the past three years. Benson is
angry because Bergland left behind
his past support for parity prices for
agriculture. He says Bergland has
“sold out.”
Some people believe that Berg
land had Tom Benson, among
others, in mind last year, when he
labeled protesting farmers “greedy.”
Each man represents a different
way of looking at agriculture. Benson
is an advocate of putting a floor under
farm prices at 90 percent of parity, a
standard based on farmers’ buying
power from 1910-14. Prices now av
erage 64 percent of parity.
The standard is periodically re
vised so it is not as outmoded as it
sounds, but agriculture policymak
ers have been trying to bury the con
cept for a generation, charging that it
ignores gains in farm productivity.
Policymakers also prefer to mini
mize the government’s role in agri
cultural production.
Benson was one of five AAM lead
ers who met with Bergland Friday to
discuss farm policy.
Bergland told farmers the admi
nistration did not support any more
increases in price supports, but he
invited them to come up with prop
osals for further discussions — as
long as they were not “dream world”
proposals.
When the question of party poli
tics came up, Benson and Bergland
began to argue about parity.
Benson said Bergland campaigned
successfully for Congress in support
of 90 percent of parity. Bergland de- •
nied that he campaigned on that I
issue. |
In response to a question from j
Benson at a meeting in Alexandria,
Minn., Bergland said he once voiced
support for a House resolution call
ing for farm prices at 90 percent of
parity
Benson called the resolution
“flim-flam” and said it was a big mis
take.
Bergland circulated a letter to con
gressmen asking for their support of
the resolution and blamed the effort
on Rep. Richard Nolan, D-Minn., an
AAM backer who is retiring from
Congress at the end of this term.
“He engineered that whole nit-wit
exercise,” Bergland said.
Benson asked, “You mean you
were never for 90 percent of parity?”
Bergland replied, “I was not cam
paigning on 90 percent of parity. ”
Benson asked again, “Never?
Never? Hubert Humphrey never
did?”
Bergland said, “I don’t know about
that. I’m not going to get into that
with you.”
Another farmer interjected and
told the men to argue their old poli
tical wars some other time.
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(WE'RE JUST A Fi|
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MART.)
iANERS
SHOPPING CENTER]
The scandal has brought calls for a
legislative overhaul of grain trading
aws. It also inspired a group of far
mers to file claims with a state review
card, asking the state to pay for
;rain they lost.
“The crash of’29 has hit Van Buren
ounty,” one man blurted when de-
ails of the scandal began to trickle
out. Collapse of the Stockport eleva
tor has hit dozens of southeast Iowa
amilies.
“It’s unbelievable the losses these
people have taken, especially the
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Salon '80
On February 27, 1980, Pennzoil Company’s Management Systems Depart
ment will have two representatives on campus to interview qualified graduates
for several openings for analyst/programmer positions in its Information Sys
tems Development Department. Pennzoil is interested in talking to you if you
have an undergraduate degree in Business with a heavy concentration in Data
Processing Courses; or if you have a graduate degree in Business which
includes a heavy background in Data Processing.
Our analyst/programmers work in a variety of exciting application areas such as
Payroll, Marketing, Finance, Forecasting, General Accounting, Oil and Gas
Crude Accounting, etc. We also have a well-defined career path tailored to the
ambitions and abilities of each incumbent. If you would like to stay current in the
art of Data Processing and grow with a growing company, please try to have an
interview scheduled. If you can not arrange a personal interview while our two
representatives are on your campus, please send a copy of your resume to:
Campus Recruiting Coordinator
Pennzoil Company
P.O. Box 2967
Houston, Texas 77001
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