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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 25, 1980)
5 The Battalion Serving the Texas A&M University community Vol. 73 No. 167 Wednesday, June 25, 1980 USPS 045 360 12 Pages College Station, Texas Phone 845-2611 bile, 7-5, fj mpsonA lottfriedla -3, M; fEcuiin.S m'l Holin ? Andw ,d Ison m when lk ahn hints at 1981 tax cut mel blames inflation on quest for 'good life' United Press International A panel of former government economic officials con- nds Americans helped cause inflation by demanding the jood things in life,” but there also is word the govern- ent may be giving its citizens more money — through a xcut. A bipartisan group of former government economic ficials Monday in Washington announced the formation the Committee to Fight Inflation. Its membership eludes five former Treasury secretaries and two former HMtJpds f he Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank. Inflation, members of the panel said, grew out of “ex- issive public demands for the good things in life” dating ick to the New Deal. The panel, headed by former Fed chairman Arthur 5,6-4, in urns, said the demands included a better standard of W, «,K| /ing, income security, more aid to the disadvantaged, eaner environment, and health and safety and benefits , Mr special interests. contms jijegg things, the group said, raised government lending and asked more of the private economy than it produce. There is no cure for inflation, they said, “unless the merican people come to understand the nature of the roblem and are prepared to support the stern measures iquired to solve it.” Meanwhile, the current administration Monday ipeared to be moving closer to announcing a tax cut to dp ease individual and corporate recession pains. President Carter’s chief economic adviser and inflation ghter, Alfred Kahn, said a tax cut is “inevitable” and oped any tax relief would help stimulate business invest- iwAs. iL The president is under pressure to propose some relief during this election-year recession. “I don’t think anybody doubts that a tax cut is inevit able,” Kahn told reporters Monday. “I don’t think there is any question you have to have it.” It was the first time a high-ranking member of the administration has said outright there will be a tax cut. Others, such as Treasury Secretary G. William Miller and White House press secretary Jody Powell, have ruled out any tax reductions this year. But they have left open the possibility a cut may be proposed in 1980 to take effect next year. Kahn is the first high-ranking Carter administration official to speak so bluntly in favor of a tax cut. He would not say when the tax cut would come or how big it would be. However the speculation has been Carter will announce a tax cut this election year that would take effect next year. Kahn declined to say when the tax cut will come, how it will be structured or how big it will be. President Carter has repeatedly said he will not push for any tax relief until Congress demonstrates sufficient spending restraint. Kahn said the president is still com mitted to beating double-digit inflation by holding down spending. Although Kahn refused to be pinned down on when Carter will propose a tax cut, the president is under pressure to propose some relief during this election-year recession, which has proven to be much more severe than first predicted. Kahn said he hoped the tax cut will include “supply side” stimulus to encourage business investment as well as some direct benefits for consumers. One form of government relief that appears certain is an immediate $500 million bailout of the bankruptcy- threatened Chrysler Corp. The Chrysler Loan Guarantee Board was to meet today in Washington to approve a total of $1.5 billion in aid for the nation’s No. 3 automaker. Under the plan, Chrysler gets an immediate $500 mil lion and will be able to draw on the rest later in the year. Without the money, the firm says, it would go out of business. Elsewhere in the economy: — Morgan Guaranty Trust Co. broke ranks Monday with its major competitors and lowered the prime interest rate charged its best corporate clients to 11 Vi percent, a half-point reduction. — Daily U. S. oil imports will dip by about 12 percent, or 1 million barrels, in this recessionary year if the coun try’s real Gross National Product declines by only 1.5 percent, a study prepared by the Washington Analysis Corp. said. — The nation’s airlines carried a record 317 million passengers in 1979 and made less than a penny on each dollar of revenue for the sharpest dip in airline profits in any year, according to the Air Transport Association. id if wo groups seek students' blood 7 by CATHY SAATHOFF Battalion Staff Two different organizations want Aggies’ bod. Wadley Central Blood Bank of Dallas perates the Texas A&M University Blood which offers free blood to all A&M udents, faculty, staff, former students and heir families. Wadley provides this service ecause of blood drives sponsored on cam- ius every semester by student govern- lent, Alpha Phi Omega and Omega Phi !pha. The Red Cross sponsors monthly blood Irives and offers the blood itself free, but iharges a $25 processing fee per unit. This |s still a bargain, since purchased blood can istup to $150 per unit. The Weather Yesterday High 100 Low 78 Humidity 48% Rain O.Oinches Today High 100 Low 78 Humidity 48% Chance of rain. r- none Not all hospitals use Red Cross blood, but it is available to anyone in a hospital that does use it. Red Cross offers no type of insurance to donors since its blood is avail able to anyone. Wadley has exclusive rights to blood on campus; they have been collecting Aggie blood since 1959. The Texas A&M Blood Club started in 1963. Donor credits, which mean free blood, were given to students and their families. In 1973, the privilege was ex tended to former students, faculty and staff and their families. Janet Golub, co-chairman of the Aggie blood drive, said the issue of who should get the blood is “a thorn in everybody’s side.” The issue comes up periodically, she said, and in January the A&M Blood Drive Committee, composed of two representa tives from each of the sponsoring organiza tions, decided to discuss the issue with rep resentatives from Wadley and the Red Cross. The committee decided to stick with Wadley and its blood club plan. “For all purposes that’s the best deal we can get,” Golub said. “With Wadley, we re covered wherever we go. ” Dr. Ray Lee, chairman of the Red Cross blood drive, said there is no competition with Wadley, but that “student govern ment has determined that they prefer to give blood to the Wadley bank.” He said there is a possibility Red Cross may one day be allowed to collect on campus if they come one month before or after Wadley. “We cannot hurt the Wadley drive,” Golub said. Blood should only be given every two months, she said, so the Red Cross would have to conduct its drives be tween Wadley’s visits. The final decision was that while Red Cross couldn’t collect on campus, they could publicize their monthly drives on campus. “I have yet to see a Red Cross poster on campus,” Golub said. Publicity is one of Red Cross’s problems, Golub said. Each monthly Red Cross drive has a different sponsor, and it is hard to generate enthusiasm this way. It also sponsors special drives for in terested firms, but Lee said there aren’t many businesses in this area large enough to merit bringing a blood unit here from the central blood bank in Waco. Red Cross also keeps a list of donors with rare blood types in each area, Lee said, such as O positive, which is the universal donor. Lee said Red Cross does not collect enough blood to meet the demand at area hospitals. “When a patient needs blood the Red Cross provides it,” Lee said. All blood collected by the Red Cross here is sent to Waco to be processed. If a community requires more blood than it generates, blood from other communities makes up the deficit. “With the amount of people in this area we should get a lot more than we do,” Lee said. “We do get a lot of response from students and we certainly do appreciate it. ” Golub said most of the blood used at the local hospitals is used for local residents. not for Texas A&M students, but Aggies contribute about 65 percent of Red Cross’s blood. With about 90,000 people living in Bryan-College Station, getting enough blood should not be a problem, she said. “The Red Cross does not need the volume of blood we get at these (campus) drives,” Golub said. Wadley collected about 1,700 units at its last drive, while the Red Cross averages about 200 units every month. “What this community needs is its own blood bank,” Golub said. People are ignorant about giving blood, she said, and a blood bank would make people more aware of the need for blood. Golub said the blood drive committee has offered to help Red Cross with publicity for their blood drives. “We don’t feel like we’re competing, or that we have to compete,” Golub said. Golub also said the Red Cross needs to plan its drives more carefully. For instance, both groups have drives coming up in July. Wadley will be at Texas A&M on July 1-2 to collect blood for the July 4 weekend; the Red Cross will be at Holiday Inn South on July 8-9, when the demand has died down. Golub said that both organizations offer a needed service. Blood collected by both is thoroughly tested, she said. Donated blood is usually more disease- free than purchased blood, because anyone who sells his blood is likely to need money badly enough to lie about bis recent health. Photo by Jim Hendrickson Bobby Johnson, a former Texas A&M agricultural journalism major, donates blood at an Aggie Blood Drive earlier in the year. Student government and other campus groups have scheduled a blood drive next week to help meet the anticipated demand from the July 4 weekend. Blood drive set up to cover holiday Two mobile units from Wadley Central Blood Bank in Dallas will be set up on the Texas A&M University campus July 1-2 to collect blood to help meet the demand over the July 4 weekend. Blood drive co-chairman Janet Golub said the units will be parked by the Memo rial Student Center and the Commons. “What made us decide to run it is the vast need for blood over the Fourth of July weekend,” Golub said. Giving blood at the mobile units is much more comfortable than giving at the MSG, Golub said, because the donor can lie on a bed rather than on a tabletop. “With the drive coming up,” Golub said, “the one thing for people to remember is that it’s a big holiday weekend coming up. ” Golub said the drive, which is co sponsored by student government, Alpha Phi Omega and Omega Phi Alpha, should yield about 300-400 units of blood. Wadley operates the Texas A&M Blood Club, which offers blood replacements to all Texas A&M students, faculty, staff, for mer students and their families. Campus blood drives contribute donor credits to the A&M Blood Club’s account. Marcello, two others plead not guilty to Brilab charges United Press International NEW ORLEANS — Reputed underworld boss Carlos Marcello and two other men pleaded innocent Tuesday to racketeering, bribery and conspiracy charges in the federal government’s undercover Brilab investigation. U.S. Magistrate Ingard O. Johannesen, who set bond at $35,000 each, gave a tentative trial date of July 28 before District Judge Morey Sear. Marcello, who walked briskly with attorney Virgil Wheel er through a mob of reporters and photographers to the courthouse, wore a dark blue suit, light blue shirt and a striped tie. Asked his occupation during the arraignment, Marcello replied, “I’m an investor.” At one time in his long career of brushes with the law, Marcello described himself as “just a tomato salesman.” Marcello was arraigned with I. Irving Davidson of Washington, who said he was a selfemployed public relations consultant, and New Orleans-area attorney Vincent Marinello. All pleaded innocent to charges in a 25-page indictment issued last Tuesday after a year-long FBI investigation. A fourth defendant, former Louisiana Commissioner of Administration Charles Roemer, was set for arraignment today due to scheduling conflicts. They were indicted after an investigation of influence peddling and corruption in labor organizations and politics conducted through the use of bugs, wiretaps and an under cover FBI informant. If convicted on all 12 counts, Marcello and Davidson could be sent to jail for 90 years and fined $69,000. Marinello faces a maximum of 50 years and a $52,000 fine. Marcello stood with his hands behind his back while Johannesen questioned him. Asked where he lived, he said he has lived in suburban Metairie for 15 years. When asked where he was bom, Wheeler interrupted and said Marcello was not required to answer “in view of other matters.” Marcello has been fighting U.S. Immigration and Natur alization Service attempts to deport him for 27 years. Wheeler again interrupted when Johannesen asked if Mar cello had any criminal convictions, saying Marcello was not required to respond. Marcello and Marinello were ordered to remain in Louisiana, but the magistrate said Marcello could go out of state for hearings in the deportation case. Wheeler waived a reading of the indictment, saying Mar cello understood it fully. “On behalf of Mr. Marcello, we enter a plea of not guilty to the indictment to each and every count,” he said. Before the arraignment, Marcello sat in the front of the room. He took out his wallet and leafed quietly through credit cards and several $100 bills. Davidson sat working on a crossword puzzle. Johannesen gave defense lawyers 10 days to file pretrial motions and set a tentative pretrial hearing for July 8. When Wheeler asked for more time, Johannesen declined to rule and requested the motion in writing. Attorneys have said it would take months to prepare for the complex case. Marcello stepped from a gold Cadillac about 30 minutes before the scheduled 11 a.m. arraignment and, joined by Wheeler and another man, marched about 150 feet to the courthouse door. “I’ve instmeted Mr. Marcello not to make any remarks. We don’t have anything to discuss at this time,” Wheeler said. Noting all the jostling among news peopfr covering the arraignment, he said, “We’d appreciate a litt'e leeway.” Wheeler looked at the crowd and joked to Marcello, “It looks like Mardi Gras.” Marcello passed a first-floor metal detector and waited for an elevator to the third-floor courtroom. He said nothing during the ride upstairs. A few minutes before Marcello, Davidson arrived with his attorney, Thomas Dyson. “We have nothing to say,” was Dyson’s only comment. Davidson said nothing. Some troops appear headed northward Withdrawal seen as ‘farce’ United Press International KABUL, Afghanistan — The world heaped scorn on the Soviet Union’s partial withdrawal scheme Tuesday, but diploma tic sources here said at least some troops were headed home. In Washington, U.S. officials said they found no evidence 10,000 Soviet troops and 108 tanks had left the country. Echoing the chilly response to the Soviet plan by Western leaders meeting in Venice, the U.S. officials said the latest reports spoke of significant increases of Soviet troops inside Afghanistan in recent weeks. Even if they are withdrawn, they will be positioned just north of the Afghan border ready to move back into the landlocked, Texas-size country if needed, they said. China’s official Xinhua news agency dis missed the Soviet withdrawal as a “farce” and said the Soviet action was designed to “contain the growing anti-Soviet feeling among the Afghans and also create confu sion.” Xinhua claimed the division of troops said to be withdrawing already had been replaced earlier this month by 10,000 fresh soldiers. Despite the international skepticism, di plomatic sources in Kabul said the Soviet troops and tanks did appear to be moving north toward the Soviet Union, although it was unclear in what numbers. The tanks rumbled through the streets of Kabul Monday en route to the highway leading north. Radio Moscow said the troops were pas sing through the strategic Salang Pass on their way home, but it would still take another day or two before they actually cross the Oxus River into the Soviet Union. American satellites presumably are Oil well near Bryan explodes; none hurt United Press International BRYAN — An oil rig being drilled near Bryan exploded Tuesday, sending flames 80 feet into the air. Five men working on the oil and gas well escaped without injury. Firefighters and sheriffs deputies were pumpingwater into the 120-foot, $1 million well, located eight miles east of Bryan off Texas 21, late Tuesday in an effort to stem the flames that still shot 60 feet upward. Eugene Roberts, a tool pusher for Block er Drilling Co. of Alice, which was drilling the rig for Gulf Oil of Houston, said the men were trying to get rid of gas in the well’s mud Tuesday afternoon when the gas caught fire and mud began spewing out of the hole. Driller William Thomas Donahoe said when the mud started shooting out they knew the well was about to explode and ran to safety. Firefighters said they did not expect further explosions and added that the fire would be easier to put out if the rig col lapsed, which they believe it may do. trained on the approaches to Kushka and Termez in the Soviet Union, cities that dominate the only two highways leading into Afghanistan. Although the Soviet division and 108 tanks were withdrawing, a Soviet buildup in Kabul itself made it difficult to notice any reduction of the Soviet presence. About 20,000 Soviets, including 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers, are in the capital, reflect ing a steady increase in recent months, diplomats said. In addition to troops, the Soviets have dispatched doctors, clerks, teachers and “advisers” to Afghanistan. A Kabul merchants’ strike was entering its fifth day today with no sign of fading and the diplomats said the Soviets were unlike ly to significantly reduce their strength in Kabul amid such tension. About 95 percent of Kabul’s merchants shuttered their doors and one long-time resident said “It looks like Feb. 21” when a similar strike erupted into rioting that re sulted in scores of Afghan deaths. The handful of shopkeepers who did open for business faced the threat of death from guerrilla “enforcers” and witnesses said the insurgents killed at least two mer chants in the city’s Old Bazaar for defying the strike. Shopkeepers said the rebels, many of whom have entered the city, have not yet ordered students to hold anti-Soviet de monstrations and some youths could be seen attending classes and carrying books in the streets. “The students went to jail for their demonstrations a number of weeks back and maybe that is why they have not joined this strike yet,” one merchant con fided. Moslem rebels in Peshawar, Pakistan, said the shopkeepers’ strike had spread to Jalalabad, Ghazni, Parwan and Herat, all major provincial cities.