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
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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
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Station, Texas 77843.
Represented nationally by National Educational Adver
tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los
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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
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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
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