Viewpoint
By Jim Earle
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Thursday
September 11, 1980
i College Stat
said that 11,746
some of it three
Bstrict’s food j
I The rotten f<
Slouch
“I'm getting encyclopedias, I belong to all the book clubs, I have been signed
up for at least 50 magazine subscriptions. If I ever find out who did this to me.
I’ll kill him!”
Anti-inflation moves
will hurt as they heal
By MARY TOBIN
United Press International
NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve is the
“only anti-inflation game in town” but the Fed’s
latest play against inflation could make things
tougher for business and consumers in the com
ing months.
Interest rates have risen substantially in the
past two weeks and the rise already has been
reflected in increases in the prime rate for busi
ness and higher mortgage rates for home-
buyers.
increase delinquencies on current debt and
“the banks are being very careful about their
lending,” Jones said.
Jones also said that Fed restraint at this time
“puts any chance of recovery this year in jeopar
dy. For every one percentage point jump in
interest rates from now on the recovery likely
will be postponed by six months.”
“It’s necessary for the Fed to act since it
appears to be the only anti-inflation game in
town,” said David M. Jones, economist for Au
brey G. Lanston & Co. “But a tightening in Fed
policy is a much riskier business than it was six
months ago.”
Business will feel the effects of the higher
prime rate announced by many banks last week
and this could push the unemployment rate
higher.
“The current business inventory situation
appears to present some real problems,” said
Sullivan. “Clearly the business sector regards
its current inventory as excessive and will con
tinue to cut production until a better alignment
with sales is achieved.”
William V. Sullivan Jr., economist at Bank of
New York, also noted that the ability of the
economy to tolerate higher interest rates “is
dramatically different than it was earlier this
year. ”
Unemployment is higher, the housing and
auto industries are weaker and capacity utiliza
tion is lower, Sullivan said.
“Specifically, the higher interest rate struc
ture represents a potentially negative develop
ment for the residential construction industry
and consumer spending on durables — espe
cially autos — as well as business inventory
investment.”
Business and industrial loans have risen
sharply in recent weeks, and while this has
been interpreted as a sign of improved econo
mic strength, William N. Griggs, senior vice
president at J. Henry Schroder Bank & Trust
says this is only “a minor factor.”
Griggs said there are several reasons for the
increased borrowing, among them the fact that
“apparently many small and medium-sized cor
porations, due in good part to a deterioration in
earnings and cash flow, have had to finance
inventories through bank borrowing.”
Jones feels the consumer debt area “is espe
cially vulnerable” to higher rates.
Despite the lifting of the Fed’s credit con
trols, banks didn’t completely relax the tough
stance on consumer credit they adopted last
spring.
“The banks are using extreme selectivity in
consumer borrowing,” Jones said. “And one of
the reasons is the record debt consumers took
on early this year in part to keep ahead of infla
tion.”
But continued inflationary pressures on
households and the recession have combined to
Also higher yields in the bond market have
prompted some firms to turn temporarily to
banks much as they did when interest rates
were at record levels.
Indeed Griggs notes that these yields and
short-term market rates had begun moving up
“way ahead of Fed policy.”
And while he feels “borrower resistance to
higher mortgage rates is some cause for con
cern,” the current rates endanger the recovery
only if they are sustained.
“The market has moved ahead of events and
because of this there is an opportunity for rates
to come down,” Griggs said.
Warped
Hank Williams: Alive and
Rid some food i
Ruckload of s
w
Elementary pri
Bill Goodwin
ed the Brazos 1
[ standard pro<
• checking th
My magnificent obsession often causes peo
ple to turn and stare. Why should people gawk
and point just because I walk across the campus
of a major Texas university singing Hank Wil-
liams tunes at the top of my voice? Of all peo
ple, Aggies should be understanding of my fet
ish with the phrases of the immortal Hank, who
depicts my life in every word of his songs.
Of course, I realize that most who giggle and
whisper as I walk by crooning “Your Cheatin’
Heart” have only just discovered what I learned
years ago: my voice will never make me rich.
But, I give it the old college try from the very
depths of my diaphragm. Such sincerity must
surely be worth something.
By Venita McCellon
Hank’s music would be as meaningful to my life
even if Beverly Sills were singing it. The Texas
twang is surely not mandatory. What is neces
sary is a certain willingness to relate the words
of every song to today’s lifestyle.
Others may note the evident twang in my
voice which identifies me as a born and bred
East Texan and wish they could point me to the
nearest hay barn for a rest. It wouldn’t be the
first time.
But, my own characteristics aside, I think
For example, one of life’s never-ending <pies-
tions is “How do I walk up to my chosen male/
female and ask him/her to ride away into the
sunset?” The answer to that is easy. Just listen
to Hank, walk up and sing "Iley, hey, flood
lookin’. Whatcha’ pot cookin'? How’s about
, . , .1 ■ • ..i j-'n iphen a power s
cookin somethin up with mer HosR me f r Q Zen f ol
can life be? ■Thehealthd
As the song continues, one learnstta^ a letter rece
is not needed; poor Hank only had!|that food in the
Ford and a two-dollar bill to his namei house and 4,t
to take the girl to a spot where thesortaBarehouse was
the dancing were free, hut, I alwaysB,^ cc ® r ^ in 8 to
that young lady hopped right in that Faff.^ was
well, 1 have a good imagination JteSewh!
Should this move work like itclidfalMj or jf too n
rosy future may be ahead. But, iftheitB 0 r a g e
ship seems to turn sour afteraweekoffcR “Asofnow,”
pop, one could always bellow out ll;|f as shipped to
ya' love me like ya ’ used to do? How
treat me like a worn-out shoe?” This I
been a favorite of mine. It makes si
sense. "I’m the same ole’ trouble
always been through implies that wk
responsible for the soured relations*
didn’t have much intelligence to get
into the mess to start with.
How profound.
e can prove (
Also, he saic
.ack of
Ci
By DE
Ba
Problems w
pent, zoning
pge Station w(
inusual joint
found] and th
Commission V
Too many
amily dwellin
>n city streel
nance violatio
Pat Maher,
thairman, aski
enforcement j
pance and nol
Finding sal:
for staff to see
[ors is unlikel
laid.
"If neighbc
ibout it (violal
complaint ...
solving the p
Tony Jones s<
Another sn
soning. Larg
Loned for cor
Who’
It’s your turn
Nominatioi
hrough Fridi
ho Among
niversities ;
81.
Nominatio
om most ac;
at the office o
tudent Serv
med to ball
First Silver Taps draws comments
Editor:
Beautiful. And in the midst of it all, on a night
just as any other night there was a gathering,
and there was silence and darkness and rest,
and it was the loudest prayer I had ever heard.
Yet there was not a word spoken.
Frat party rapped
Editor:
be a solemn occasion and not aplacefor|
displays of affection. Escorts are
should go no further than that.
Belli I
In the darkness, as I walked with a few of my
new-found friends, I thought. I wondered why
it happened this way, why hundreds or
thousands (I could not tell) left what was impor
tant to them at the time, and walked to a place
where they passed everyday, to pay their re
spects for those that I (and I assume many) did
not know. I wondered why walking across a
campus in the middle of the night classified me
as a Good Ag.
We would like to publicly admonish the ac
tions of one or more fraternities for holding a
rush party on the night of Silver Taps. How can
any organization wishing to be called Aggies
hold a party on the evening of one of A&M’s
most revered ceremonies?
Mark Ince ’80
Editor’s note: This letter was accompf
3 other signatures.
Letters to the editor
The Battalion solicits letters to the f
guest opinions and comments for the Vie* 1
Editor’s note: This letter was accompanied by
65 signatures.
page- 1 . ,j
Letters to the editor should be limited!
Taps not roman tic
I did not easily find the answers to my ques
tions as I stood shoulder to shoulder with those
I did know, and dripped in the dampness. I
found no answers, as I heard many voices trying
to suppress a disruptive cough. I got no direct
answer from the obviously meaningful yet
vague rifle salute — proud as it was. And I got
no clear answer from the simple and humble yet
mystic chorus of taps. It was when I was walking
back that all my answers came to me. I felt that I
was walking back shoulder to shoulder with
someone I knew but had not met. And I found
that the phrase “Good Ag” more than not refers
lucky Ag. Beautiful.
Jerry Beaver, ’84
Editor:
Every year before the first Silver Taps, flyers
and articles are written about the code of be
havior during the ceremony. We think that it is
offending that some couples find the atmos
phere romantic. The ceremony is intended to
words, and are subject to being cut ill
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The Battalion
U S P S 045 360
MEMBER
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Southwest Journalism Congres
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LETTERS POLICY
By Scott McCullar
Editor Dillard Stone
Managing Editor Rhonda Watters
City Editor Becky Swanson
Sports Editor Richard Oliver
Focus Editor Scot K. Meyer
News Editors Lynn Blanco, Gwen Ham,
Scott Haring, Todd Woodard
Staff Writers Kurt Allen, Nancy Andersen,
Marcy Boyce, Mike Burrichter,
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Cartoonist Scott McCullar
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reserves the right to edit letters for style and length.!' I
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writer.
Columns and guest editorials are also welcome, i
subject to the same length constraints as letters. 0 t
inquiries and correspondence to: Editor, The Mai**
Heed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College SUM
77843.
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