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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1980)
Battalion Serving the Texas A&M University community Monday, October 13, 1980 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Yesterday Today High 86 High 88 Low 60 Low 55 Humidity. . . 75% Humidity ...90% Rain Chance of rain... .. . none Rescuers search for living Algerian earthquake death toll over20,000 United Press International Al-ASNAM, Algeria — Rescuers pushed away rubble with bulldozers and bare hands today in a hunt for survi vors in the earthquake-flattened city of Al-Asnam, but government officials said the death toll already has passed 20,000. “We still do not know the scale of this disaster,” a doctor of the Algerian Red Crescent, the equivalent of the Red Cross, said of the killer quake that reduced the town to rubble in about 30 seconds Friday. About two dozen people, including a 2-month-old baby, were plucked alive from the ruins of the city Sun day, but several hundred other victims dug out with bulldozers and earthmovers were already dead, bringing the total of corpses already recovered to more than 5,000. Interior Ministry aides said more than three times that number were still under collapsed buildings, and rescue teams in isolated villages in a 60-mile swath of destruction reported the number of homeless would reach more than 140,000. At an emergency Cabinet meeting Sunday, President Bendjedid Chadli ordered additional generators and floodlight equipment to the ravaged city, and 200 more ambulances were thrown into the evacuation effort to get still uncounted thousands of injured to undamaged hos pitals. “We lack organization, not medical supplies, for the moment,” the Red Crescent doctor said, acknowledging delays in treatment at hastily thrown up aid stations in schoolyards. The quake rivals the worst to ever hit North Africa — a 1716 tremor that is believed to have killed 20,000. The 2-month-old baby was plucked in a miraculous rescue from the wreckage of a four-story building where already about a dozen corpses had been found. A rescue worker wriggled under tons of fallen concrete, following the infant’s cries. Emerging with it in apparent good health, he ran with it in his arms to a waiting ambu lance. Its mother was apparently dead. Bodies already uncovered were hurriedly buried as soon as they were identified in make-shift morgues. Chadli ordered that the second priority after saving those trapped was to avoid risks of epidemics. As a 17-nation international effort gained momentum in Algeria, field hospitals arrived from West Germany and Yugoslavia that would add 1,200 beds to those available in the disaster area. France sent an additional 80 doctors and paramedics. The United States sent disaster experts and satellite communications gear. A continuing flow of thousands of refugees streamed from towns and villages in the stricken area, spurred by continuing aftershocks that brought fears of another damaging quake. The shocks endangered rescue crews digging through the treacherous debris, and officials tried to keep the refugees off the only two open roads, already clogged by relief convoys and wailing ambulances. _ - _ Staff photo by Dillard Stone Lay-ho... heave! TiployBGS, hsi ■ remerton on Senior redpot Kyle Gish lets out a growl as he helps move one of the first only one tabotofire logs to arrive at Duncan Intramural Field. Sunday was the first as the city »'| a y 0 f cutting for the 1980 bonfire, and flatbed trucks loaded with logs Urived at the field early in the morning. Iraq pushes for control of waterway on border ions. 7 Oct. . < dialing 1#: hr gland to speak today ID M/F J.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Bob rgland, will speak at Texas A&M Uni- sity today on the topic: “Carter’s Pro se to America — More Than Just emits.” MSG Political Forum is sponsoring the ent. It will begin at 1 p.m. in Rudder Theater. Admission is free. Before his confirmation to the presi dent’s cabinet, Bergland represented Min nesota’s seventh district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was a member of the House Agriculture and Small Business Committee. United Press International BASRA, Iraq—Iraq said today its troops battled their way to the outskirts of Abadan and were massing to enter Iran’s crucial oil refining city in a major push to gain mastery of the Shaat al-Arab waterway. As the war stetched into its fourth week today, the Iranian Foreign Ministry con firmed that Iran would take part in a United Nations debate on Tehran’s dis pute with Iraq, raising hopes of a limited cease-fire to free foreign shipping trapped in the strategic waters. But there were no signs of a settlement to the 22-day conflict, and Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr told the Soviet en voy in Tehran that Iran would not stop fighting until Iraq halts its “aggression and intervention in Iran’s internal affairs.” To strengthen Iran’s war effort, Ayatol lah Ruhollah Khomeini set up a Supreme Defense Council in a decree that consoli dates Bani-Sadr’s control over Iran’s armed forces and increases his power overall against hard-line Moslem militants. Iraq’s long-awaited push against Abadan began Saturday with its forces throwing pontoon bridges across the Karun River and pushing tanks and troops across the waterway, 10 miles north of Abadan. Iraq announced Sunday its forces were “maintaining their advance with confi dence and high morale” and the troops were “getting ready to enter Abadan.” But Iraqi troops met stitt resistance at Khurramshahr on the north bank of the Karun River and trucked up reinforce ments in an attempt to silence the Iranian holdouts. The port area of Khurramshahr has been in Iraqi control for several days, but Iranian troops armed with mortars and automatic rifles and backed by artillery to the south have resisted a complete Iraqi takeover. Iraqi troops fired mortars into Khurram shahr in close-range fighting while artillery pounded Abadan. Palls of smoke hung over the two cities. An Iraqi military communique said 43 Iranian soldiers were killed in the fighting and 10 tanks destroyed, while eight Iraqi soldiers were killed and one tank lost. Reagan change campaign tactics Banks close for holiday Area banks, federal offices and post offices are closed today for Columbus Day. Also called “Discovery Day,” Col umbus Day is celebrated every year on the second Tuesday in October. The holiday commemorates the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492. City offices in Bryan and College Sta tion will be open for business as usual. United Press International sident Carter’s campaign will devote attention to what its chairman calls ttald Reagan’s “flip-flops” on issues, Reagan’s campaign shifts its aim to ica’s suburbs in this third week before ion Day. B>ert Strauss met with Carter cam- ign coordinators from 25 states in |ington, then told reporters, “Their JBst complaint is that we have not done d a job as we need to do to let people oil how he (Reagan) has absolutely flip- pped on issue after issue after issue, we’ve got to do a better job on that,” he ded. “We’ve let him get by with it.” Stuart Spencer, top Reagan campaign rajegist, said America’s suburbs “are ing to be the battleground” in the final seks before Nov. 4, and vice presidential nominee George Bush will be called upon to help win them. “The big thing in the next three weeks is to elevate George Bush in the campaign and give him more resources in certain regions and states where there are ticket splitters,” Spencer said. Both major candidates geared for heavy campaign weeks. Carter was to spend today at the Columbus Day parade in New York, then go on to Illinois and St. Louis before returning to the White House. Reagan was spending today campaigning in the Los Angeles suburbs before heading east again. John Anderson, on CBS’ “Face the Na tion” Sunday, said he believes Carter is “out of it,” and that the voters will choose between Reagan and himself in the polling booths. He has, he said, a good chance of winning. A number of new surveys and polls had conflicting results. NBC’s third weekly news electoral vote survey showed a narrowing lead for Reagan with 190 votes in 23 states to Carter’s 144 votes in 13 states and the District of Col umbia. Fourteen states were too close to call. Last week, Reagan led in 25 states with 233 votes, while Carter led in 13 states and D.C. with 143 votes. The shifts included Texas and New Jersey moving from leaning Republican to toss-up, a net loss for Reagan of 43 votes. Maine moved from toss-up to leaning Democratic, and Delaware moved from leaning Democratic to toss-up, a net gain of one for Carter. A United Press International weekend survey, meanwhile, showed Reagan with more than enough electoral votes to win. If the voting were held now, Reagan would carry 34 states with 365 electoral votes, it said, while Carter would carry 10 states and the District of Columbia with 121 electoral votes. Six states with 52 electoral votes were rated toss-ups. Reagan in UPI’s survey a month ago had 30 states and 323 electoral votes to Carter’s 15 and the district with 128 electoral votes. Five states with 87 votes were rated as toss-ups. The St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Arkansas Gazette, meanwhile, endorsed Carter over the weekend, while the Birm ingham, Ala., News and Ohio’s Columbus Dispatch and Cincinnati Enquirer went for Reagan. Here were the findings in other weekend polls: — Carter ahead in the New York Daily News straw poll, with 39 percent of likely voters to Reagan’s 32 percent in New York state. — Carter narrowly ahead in the Chicago Tribune polls, with 33.9 percent to Reagan’s 29 percent in Illinois. — Reagan ahead in Iowa, with 44 per cent to Carter’s 32 percent in Iowa, accord ing to the Des Moines Sunday Register. — Reagan ahead in nine of the 11 Mid western states, according to U. S. News and World Report magazine, with Carter lead ing only in Minnesota, and with Michigan too close to call. Texans to vote on bank laws United Press International AUSTIN — A proposed constitutional amendment authorizing banks to place un manned teller machines in shopping cen ters and supermarkets would shorten downtown bank lines and allow Texans to do the bulk of their banking in their home neighborhoods, supporters of the proposal contend. The Texas constitution currently bans branch banking, and the unmanned teller machines have been considered branch banks, so the only ones in use currently are located on the main bank premises. Lnnual drive kicks off today I 2,000pints of blood sought By VENITA McCELLON ■ Battalion Reporter The Aggie Blood Drive starts today, with hopes of bringing in ore than 2,000 pints of that good of Aggie blood. ’We re shooting for as much as we can get,” said Chris Lang- | Aggie Blood Drive Committee member. “But we’ll be hap- ith anything over 2,000.” The blood drive is sponsored annually by Alpha Phi Omega, mega Phi Alpha and Student Government. Kent Caperton, Democratic candidate for the state Senate from lis district, will help kick off the drive today. Caperton is sche- ded to arrive at 12:15 p.m. at the bloodmobile at Sbisa Dining all to give blood, said Langford. Texas A&M University Head Football Coach Tom Wilson is keduled to give blood Tuesday morning, though the location isbot yet been determined. The main facility, located in 212-224 Memorial Student Center, be be open Tuesday-Thursday from noon until 9 p.m., and andle a capacity of500 pints a day. Two bloodmobiles will be located at Sbisa and the Commons, each open from 11 a. m. to 7 p.m. through Thursday. The bloodmobiles have a daily capacity of 100 pints. The hours at the three locations will allow for the donation of 2,300 pints. Although pre-registration for the drive ended Friday, Langford said that any student who meets the requirements can still give, even if he hasn’t pre-registered. Requirements for giving blood include that the donor must weigh over 110 pounds, must not have given blood within the past 56 days, should eat a good meal four hours before giving, must not have been ill in the past few weeks, must not be on medication of any kind and must not have lived outside the country for an extended period of time in the past three years. The first Aggie Blood Drive was held in 1959, when 392 pints were collected. Since that time over 20,000 pints have been collected, making Texas A&M the largest donor of blood to the Wadley Central Blood Bank, which handles the blood drive. Dallas millionaire backs hunt ot divers hoping to recover Pinta United Press International KEY WEST, Fla. — Two divers backed f a Texas millionaire hope to prove they m found a treasure worth far more than avenged booty — the Pinta, one of the iree ships Christopher Columbus used in isbdyssey to the New World. Olin Frick and John Casque said next lonth they and a crew of 23 divers and rdeologists would return to recover the Pmains of the ship, which they found while parching for sunken treasure. They said Hallas millionaire William R. Reilly is acldng the venture financially. The treasure hunters told the Miami lerald Sunday a 500-year-old tax report scently found in Spain suggests the sunk- n wreck could be the Pinta, one of the iree ships to take part in Columbus’ first xpedition to the New World in 1492. The ship, resting in 30 feet of water, was discovered in 1977 by Frick and Gasque while searching off the Caicos Bank for ships to salvage. In documenting the wreck, Frick and Gasque have relied on two experts, Men del Peterson, former director of underwa ter archeology for the Smithsonian Insti tute, and Dr. Eugene Lyon, a Florida his torian who specializes in research at Spain’s Archives of the Indies in Seville. Peterson said he has “found nothing which would contradict” the treasure hun ters’ theory that the sunken ship is the Pinta. He said a heavy iron cannon, a light er swivel gun and a single lead cannon ball removed from the wreck are consistent with the period. “Nothing is precisely datable, but no thing I saw could not have been in use at that time,” Peterson said. “We plan to go over the wreck very, very carefully,” Gasque said. “We will recover everything that we can find — right down to the last ballast stone — and bring it back with us. “Like all archeological work, we may not be able to come up with absolute proof that it is the Pinta, but if we find nothing to contradict it, we think the weight of the evidence will be awfully convincing,” Gas que said. Even if the ship is not the Pinta, but it is established that it actually sank around the turn of the 16th Century, it would qualify as the oldest shipwreck ever found in the Western Hempisphere. So far, the oldest shipwreck found in the Americas is part of a Spanish fleet that sank off Padre Island on the Texas Coast in 1553. Photo by Ed Martinez Terrorism in Aggieland? Dr. John Koldus, vice president for student services, is “kidnapped” by members of MSC Great Issues Commit tee Friday. Committee chairman Katy Campana and member Tommy Attaway escort Koldus from his office. The event was staged to promote the committee’s Tues day night presentation by journalist Jay Mallin, “Inter national Terrorism: The Weapon of the Future.” Prog ram admission is 50 cents for students, $1 for others.