The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, January 19, 1981, Image 17
i a razzle-dazzle event appears i (eauinin 1 Jusfci andyai >t the n. it all t for stei> courtes; Jsysome itmenld auses li otries oj oken to, Iships m ohnsom »urt pm behvee; Johnioi someojf loninjoi ings. sand& <grouul • attriliii, 'yorw 1. Here lends b al sliglti der, Si* y fedeti Barron r beanti ae past bitmoit throajl istTem y fortes ases)- ndlinesi le could ut, asd triedit dd ttei lich w leTeus ild a re house in visions, lartmeil ed, Tlif s salar lisclosel the old epensivi United Press International WASHINGTON — Ronald Wilson Reagan, 69, Hol lywood screen star, California governor, staunch con servative, becomes 40th president of the United States Tuesday — repeating the same 35-word oath George Washington spoke in 1789. The oath is one of the few similarities between the Washington and Reagan inaugurals. Washington re jected a proposal that he be crowned king, but the $8 million extravaganza ushering in Reagan comes as close as anything in America to a coronation. The inaugural—twice as costly as President Carter’s, but paid for almost entirely by private funds — is being billed by some as having more stars and razzle-dazzle than any show ever put on in Hollywood, New York or Nashville. Reagan — the oldest first-term president — spent more than one-third of his life living and acting in Holly wood and married two of his leading ladies. Show busi ness is turning out in force to honor the first actor to become president. Frank Sinatra, Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Ethel Merman, Charlton Heston, Dean Martin, Debby Boone, Rich Little, Jimmy Stewart, Mikhail Barysh nikov, Donny and Marie Osmond, Charlie Pride, Ben Vereen, Michael Landon, Elizabeth Taylor, Anthony Newley, Ray Charles, Glen Campbell, Tanya Tucker, Lou l4wls, Tony Bennett, Doc Severinsen, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Patti Page, Pat Boone, Har ry James, Fred Waring and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Those are just a few of the names that are playing the nation’s capital for Ronald Reagan in the Saturday- through-Tuesday inaugural spectacular. But the four-day inaugural spread — filled with concerts, balls, parties and fireworks — represents much more than just Hollywood comes to Washington and the return of top hat and tails formality eschewed by Carter’s Georgia mafia. It marks the launching of the most conservative government the nation has seen in nearly three decades, an end to John Kennedy’s New Frontier and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, and some say, the death of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Reagan and Vice President-elect George Bush come to office backed by what Republicans see as a sweeping mandate to slash government spending, boost the milit ary budget and cut income taxes as much as 30 percent over three years. Reagan’s landslide victory over a sitting president was viewed as a dramatic rejection not only of Carter, but a decade of high inflation, high unemployment, soaring gasoline prices and a perception by voters that the American dream was slipping away. “When you go into the voting booth, ask yourself, “Are you really better off than you were four years ago?”’ Reagan said in perhaps his most effective campaign line. The voters answered a resounding “No!” Now, 11 weeks after election day, the inauguration stands as a four-day holiday between the difficult task of assembling a cast of thousands to take over the govern- The inaugural — twice as costly as President Carter’s, but paid for almost entirely by private funds—is being billed by some as having more stars and razzle-dazzle than any show ever put on in Hollywood, New York or Nashville. ment and the more difficult task of running it for four years. To Washington have come Ronald Reagan’s 68,000 closest political friends to spend an estimated $10 mil lion a day — $40 million in all — to celebrate his finest hour and do for the economy of the capital what the new president hopes to do for the nation. Critics who have questioned the extravagance are reminded that only the $650,000 cost of the actual swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol is borne by the taxpayers — and that part of the show is controlled by a Congress under split political control. The $8 million the Reagan inaugural committee has spent comes from charging $100 to dance at an inaugural ball, up to $150 to see Sinatra, Carson, et al, at an inaugural gala, and other events. Then there are gener ous private donations, including many from big busi ness, which is prohibited by law from contributing to campaigns. An “average” couple coming to town for four days, staying in hotel rooms that easily cost $100 a night, eating in Washington restaurants, renting a limousine for the inaugural ball, buying the tickets necessary for various functions and souvenirs to take home to the kids will spend about $2,000 to help Reagan celebrate. But the inauguration is not just for the fat cats. There is free concerts at various Smithsonian museums, two free fireworks displays and special exhibits all around town. And, of course, it doesn’t cost anything to stand on the Capitol grounds for the swearing-in ceremony (although the first 17,000 seats are reserved for VIPs). Reagan’s inauguration formally opened in the cold and darkness of Saturday night outside the familiar memorial to the nation’s first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln. With Reagan and Bush in attendence and Efrem Zimbalist Jr. presiding, the*Army band played a special ly composed inaugural march and the Mormon Taberna cle Choir sang patriotic and inspirational songs, includ ing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” while the largest fireworks display in the history of the nation’s capital was shot off outside. Open to the public, it was the most extravagant opening ceremony ever — planned by the man who, among other things, opened Disneyland in California a quarter-century ago. Reagan’s was in red, white and blue, while Carter used his green and white campaign colors. The first private function — to which 23,000 persons were invited — was the governors’ reception Sunday afternoon at a large downtown hotel. The three-hour event opened with the governors, one-by-one, walking down a cascade of steps to a trumpet fanfare. On Sunday afternoon, Fred Waring and his Pennsyl vanians, who have been entertaining Americans for more than half a century, held a farewell concert at Constitution Hall. Sunday night could have been dubbed “culture night” for the inauguration, with three performances held in the three large concert halls of the Kennedy Center — each preceded and succeeded by candlelight dinners. A combined opera and ballet program featured Mikhail Baryshnikov, director of the American Ballet Theater; Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins of the New York City Ballet; and an opera program directed by Loren Maazel which featured mezzo-soprano Marilyn Home. The finale was a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich, featuring pianist Rudolf Serkin. Today begins with a joint reception honoring Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush, again in the Kennedy Cen ter, with 6,500 guests. Official bands from all four bran ches of the military services will perform. Bush, the former U.N. ambassador and liaison to China, holds a SVa-hour vice president’s reception this afternoon in one of the Smithsonian museums. Then the real entertainment begins. While “young people” attend a Beach Boys concert downtown, some 20,000 Reagan faithful will pay $100 to $150 to pack a sports arena outside Washington for the inaugural gala. That event — televised live by ABC — features Carson as master of ceremonies, and Hope, Martin, Sinatra, Merman and the other stars, as well as Gen. Omar Bradley, the nation’s only surviving five-star gen eral. Inauguration Day begins with a private church ser vice at St. John Epsicopal Church — the church of the presidents’ across Lafayette Square from the White House. At 11 a. m., the president-elect and Mrs. Reagan go to the White House to join President and Mrs. Carter for the long ride up Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol that traditionally marks the change of administrations. Incumbents and successors have been said to not speak to each other on this awkward journey along the avenue of presidents. At noon — as prescribed in the Constitution — Reagan will intone the oath every president has taken, administered by Chief Justice Warren Burger. Reagan’s inaugural address will follow. It will be short — Reagan says 15 minutes. Watching the ceremony will be 50 governors, mem bers of Congress, the diplomatic corps and Medal of Honor winners and a television audience of millions. Then comes what for many in the television audience is the highlight — the traditional parade down Pennsyl vania Avenue. nsibilitf m Tylei toTyb ; tobei ikes til on writ’ -oundd Garter, ion, by thf tratioii regal® justitt Politician says Illinois should relocate its poor United Press International CHICAGO — Illinois state Sen. Jeremiah E. Joyce says he has the answer to handling poor and unemployed people — ship them to other states. Joyce, a Democrat from Chicago, said Thursday he plans to intro duce legislation to authorize paying people on public assistance and unemployment comoensation to relocate in other states. The bill will be introduced in the state Senate in early February, Joyce said during taping of a radio program. He said the legislation would allow state payments of $4,000 to $5,000 to persons relocating in other states as “start-up expenses.” State unemployment compensation can total as much as $9,000 a yw per person, Joyce said. 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