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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1980)
fi! Slouch By Jim Earle IP EUCTEP ■5QUI ‘7 consider it a positive campaign promise. Have you ever thought of how much better off we’d be if our elected politicans didn’t serve? Opinion Soviets can’t be trusted Is the Soviet Union manufacturing germ warfare weapons in violation of an international treaty? The answer appears to be yes. A few weeks ago U.S. intelligence officials became con vinced a fatal outbreak of anthrax in the city of Sverdlovsk last year resulted from an accident at a germ weapons facility. Under the convention signed in 1972 by Russia, the Un ited States and 85 other nations, development, production or stockpiling of biological warfare weapons was outlawed ' and all such material was to be destroyed by late 1975. American officials raised the Sverdlovsk matter with the Soviets and they were given a strange tale. Yes, the Russians admitted, there had been an outbreak of anthrax in Sverdlovsk last April, but the disease had been caused by improper handling of meat products, not by a treaty violation. Intelligence officials gathered more evidence and now conclude that the Soviets are not telling the truth. The incident means that the rulers of the Soviet Union are capable of deliberately violating a treaty undertaking and then coldbloodedly lying about it. And if they will cheat on germ warfare, is it possible to trust them in a far more strategic matter, a treaty to limit the number and types of nuclear missiles? Scripps-Howard Newspaper the smalt society by Briclcman Wao-Gcrf! A4 I AlO\\6> IN ^ j □□ BB ffl ffl BB X WANT TO GO TO WHAT£=Ve^ IT WA^ I HAP ^ ^F^NT tAT LIF£ TfZYirk£ TO &&T AWAY FF5PM - (32ocsy2>- Washington Star Syndicate. Inc. The Battalion U S P S 045 360 LETTERS POLICY MEMBER 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 through 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. Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor Roy Bragg Associate Editor Keith Taylor News Editor Rusty Cawley Asst. News Editor Karen Cornelison Copy Editor Dillard Stone Sports Editor Mike Burrichter Focus Editor Rhonda Watters City Editor Louie Arthur Campus Editor Diane Blake Staff Writers ..... Nancy Andersen, Tricia Brunhart, Angelique Copeland, Laura Cortez, Meril Edwards, Carol Hancock, Kathleen McElroy, Debbie Nelson, Richard Oliver, Tim Sager, Steve Sisney, Becky Swanson, Andy Williams Chief Photographer Lynn Blanco Photographers Lee Roy Leschper, Steve Clark, Ed Cunnius 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 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 Wednesday April 16, 1980 Wisconsin fund laws try to give public money to candidates By DAVID S. BRODER MADISON, Wis. — When the debris of Jerry Brown’s space- odyssey television show and the other bric-a-brac of the presidential primary was cleared away last week, the Wisconsin legislature completed a piece of work which just conceiv ably may do more for the betterment of politics than all the words which were uttered here by the recently departed candidates. Wisconsin long has enjoyed a reputation as one of those “laborator ies of democracy” where problems which resist solution at the national level can be attacked, on an experi mental basis, in a somewhat more manageable dimension. One such problem in our politics is the growing linkage between in terest-groups and campaign financ ing, and the ability of those groups to use their financial leverage to extract special concessions — or block needed actions. In keeping with its progressive tradition, Wisconsin in 1977 became one of the early states trying a li mited form of public financing for legislative and state races, with the subsidies to candidates financed by a voluntary $1 checkoff on the state income tax. In its first trial, in the 1978 elec tion, the new system had very li mited use, because the available funds were paltry and statewide can didates found the spending limits that went with the acceptance of public funds unrealistically low for the needs of a competitive cam paign. But the winner of the 1978 guber natorial race, maverick Republican Lee S. Dreyfus, was unwilling to accept the troublesome status quo. In his own race, he set a limit of $2,500 on individual or PAG (politic al action committee) contributions to his treasury (one-tenth) seriously im paired” his freedom of judgement. In a speech last January, Dreyfus proposed a radical change in state law — a flat prohibition on PAG con tributions from interest groups to in dividual candidates and a provision that such gifts could go only to the political parties. His purpose, he said, was twofold: First, end the purchase of legislative winners in 1976 recived more than half their campaign funding from in terest groups, 19 of them received more interest-group dollars than they spent in their entire campaigns, and 16 received such contributions in substantial amounts, even though they had no opponents. Second, Dreyfus said, he wanted to try to restore “the parties to a healthy state,” as broad diverse coalitions with differing philo sophies, while confining the in terest-groups to their proper func tion “of persuading and informing those who govern...” Dryefus’ proposal was too mi for the other Wisconsin politicians! swallow. Leaders in both argued, with some justification, his plan could lead to subterfe encourage the interest groups conduct ostensibly “independa| and unauthorized” campaigns their own for favored candidam make the party leaders the“newks| ses" of Wisconsin politics, or, nately, reduce the parties ev(i| further into "laundering devices ji| . targeted interest group contrikl tions to favored candidates. But at a time when Congress seems incapable of breaking its ow deadlock on the campaign-finana issue — with House-passed Ms halted by filibuster threats in If Senate — the Wisconsin exampleisil rare and encouraging bit of (c) 1980., The Washington Post Co re ... Was it Something I said.? Here it is—the thank-the-Lord ... LOS . "an enj' through Peter P J get-me-out- of-h ere- aliveeditorn By ROY BRAGG Battalion Editor My college career is nearly over. Soon, I will be leaving Texas A&M University to accept a job as managing editor of the New York Times. And so, I must bid a quasi-fond farewell to The Battalion. The editorial written by departing edi tors is usually a cliche-ridden piece of fluff about missing the hard work, the camar aderie of the staff and other aesthetic non- He’s going to need it. It’s not that it hasn’t been fun, but I will definitely have to think about it for a while. First, I view my reign as “The Chief’ with mixed emotions. The Battalion has been my mother, father, sister, brother, girlfriend and best friend for the last four months. Ask my wife. Well, friends, this isn’t going to be one of those editorials. My reign as editor will come to close on April 25. At that time, the new editor will take over. Last night, the Student Publications Board nominated Dillard Stone as Sum mer-Fall editor. I wish Dillard all the luck in the world. Working at and running The Battalion has been both fun and frustrating. When I took over as editor in December, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I still don’t, but I think I’ve faked it rather deftly. I wish I knew what I know now when I applied for editor. I may not have tried for the job. Just kidding. I have no regrets. Even if it hasn’t been a barrel of monkeys, I think I’ve learned a lot running a Big-time College Newspaper. A Big-time editor is a baby sitter. Most of what I have learned, therefore, has been from my children — my staff. From dealing with them on a personal level, I have learned to expect nothing and accept anything. I learned that the hard way — things that couldn’t possibly go wrong did and things that could never occur did. In addition, I have learned from my staff s personal problems — of which there were many — to avoid everything and ev erybody as much as possible. I learned this because I have seen more go on in my four months as editor than I probably will in several reincarnations. During my editorship, the newsroom was full of more personal turmoil than twenty bad Harlequin romance novels. Peyton Place was Romper Room compared to The Battalion this year. The one good thing I picked up from these newsroom spats is the secret of life — most people are motivated by honesty and harmles copters. “Heli have sp< 500 feet rotor bl kite stri if The F tion sa> above 1; notified stupidity. IT* No matter what the instance, [ driven by an honest desire to dowhall think is right. I don’t believe there art really bad people in the world.' double for my staff. They’re good pe # i On the other hand, though, mostofl people — my staff and myself include are usually too stupid to knowtliat* they’re doing is usually wrong. This is what human beings are alld 1 — me included. Like I said, I wish I knew this befe took the job. That’s why I am writing column. Dillard will learn this in a few week’ doesn’t already know it. He has served deputy commander of the Corps of& 4 this year, so he already has had motf 1 perience dealing with people than 1 It’s a good thing he has beeni» ! Corps. If he had any hair, he’d prok pull it out after a couple of weeks. THOTZ By Doug Gralmi PLEA5L 'DONtt FLVJNVU st:—7 -UAi- / YOU EXPECT iHe To WlwARD A l ^Er'iESTW of Sloth vonx ■X&XTRA WHV? , ELL, RX THlfkJb, ViE'RE. good at M: the Te T\ He tio