Battalion/Page 3
June 30, 1982
local / state
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ICOPAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION:The group will
eet for Holy Eucharist and supper at 5:30 p.m. in the Canter-
tl try House, 902 Jersey St.
“JNGCLUBtA general meeting will be held at 7 p.jn,in401
udder.
s that Cl| BA CLUB:Posstble dive trips will be discussed in a
ict dedsitj 8 p.m. in 402 Rudder,
i whatheS )ERWATER HOCKEY:Bring mask, fins, snorkel, suit an.
te Univeij wel to the meeting (Scuba Club-sponsored).
Friday
5COPAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION :The
eet for Holy Eucharist and breakfast at 6:3
anterbury House, 902 Jersey St.
Texas prison ruling applauded
United Press International
WASHINGTON — A top
Justice Department official
Tuesday applauded a federal
appeals court ruling that threw
out many court-ordered re
forms for the Texas prison sys
tem, but upheld requirements to
reduce overcrowding by Nov. 1.
Assistant Attorney General
William Bradford Reynolds said
the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
ieals ruling on overcrowding
in the nation’s largest prison sys
tem was “eminently satisfactory
from the government’s point of
view.”
Last week, the appeals court
found that prison conditions in
the nation’s largest prison con
stituted cruel and unusual pun
ishment. But it struck down part
of the lower court’s ruling, and
told Texas it could house two
men in one cell.
“With respect to overcrowd
ing, the court’s approach to
fashioning relief by looking at
the totality of prison conditions
at the Texas correctional facili
ties is precisely in line with our
position,” said Reynolds, in
charge of the Justice Depart
ment’s civil rights division.
The government had argued
the degree of double-celling in
the Texas prison system de
pends on the extent that other
problems are corrected.
“The ruling of the court of
appeals follows the same reason
ing — ordering the state to im
plement other reform measures
in the next year and directing
the parties to reassess at the end
of that time whether there re
mains a need for further relief
in the area of overcrowding,”
Reynolds said.
The appeals court upheld the
lower-court decision to reduce
the inmate population by Nov.
1. However, it tossed out the re
quirement to provide single cells
for prisoners in the 33,000-
inmate system.
Reynolds said the appeals
court ruling was a “common
sense approach to a very trou
blesome problem.”
Cheap gas hurts Texans, expert says
Higher oil prices may be good
it’s loss may cost
Rockwell millions
of chansti
ititativek
but the:
nd mu, ^ United Press International
LLAS — A tentative settle-
nsen hasta
fnt in a sex bias lawsuit Filed
ate oniljjflst Rockwell International
ence, a, |rp could affect as many as
t wantstotjiOOO women and cost the major
lit, theBelfense contractor up to $2.2
i meshtMP 011 i an attorney reports,
i can to:lp ttornev J am es C. Barber
ate or M i Monda y ldat ^ District
chanae-Ir barefoot Sanders
ipproves the agreement, it
Bid affect all women who are
at ourit ||) a g ers or were rejected after
instead Hying for management posi-
to glory Sons at Rockwell’s facilities in
ps and Collin counties dur-
'a five-year period.
He said as many as 4,000
.en — including 400 to 500
ent employees — could be
Icted.
Barber said the proposed
agreement would set aside
$200,000 for non-managerial
Rockwell employees who ap
plied for management posts but
were rejected between Sept. 1,
1976, and Sept. 30, 1981.
He said each applicant would
receive a maximum of $200
under the agreement.
The firm also agreed to pay
up to $800,000 to be distributed
among female managers at
Rockwell during the same
period. Individual payments
would be based on a manager’s
rank and length of service.
The proposed settlement also
requires the firm to increase the
salary of all women managers
during the next Five years to at
least the midpoint of the salary
range for their grade level —
expected to cost $1.2 million.
iouston constable says
no’ to cocaine offer
United Press International
IOUSTON — A county law
leer said he was a little sur-
d when a Venezuelan stu-
it befriended him and
|red him a “hit” of cocaine at
rty.
Harris County Constable
acy Maxon said Monday he
rested the student and
arged him with possession of a
ntrolled substance.
IHvaro Labrador, 28, who is
the United States on a student
isa, was attending a party at
axon’s parent’s home. He
pparently did not know Maxon
(/as a law enforcement officer.
The constable said Labrador
fered him the drug when his
ite left the room.
“He was saying he thinks I’m
such a fine fellow and how nice I
am. ‘Take a hit on this and you
will really feel great and good,”’
Maxon said.
Maxon said he was surprised,
but went into another room,
alerted several other lawmen,
and then quietly arrested Lab
rador.
Maxon said he thought at first
he was the target of an FBI sting
operation.
Labrador protested the arrest
because he did not think he
could be arrested in a private
home.
“I think he was just one of
those guys that had one too
many, either cocaine or a drink,
and didn’t keep his business to
himself,” Maxon said.
United Press International
DALLAS — With the oil glut
drying up and the OPEC nations
treating each other like friends
for the moment, petroleum
prices are beginning to rise
again — and some economists
say Americans should be thank
ful they are.
Despite the contempt Amer
icans have for Arab oil produc
ers and the anger that greets ev
ery new round of price hikes,
some economists say steady
E ressure on the price of oil is the
est thing that could happen to
the American economy — even
if it means supporting the OPEC
cartel.
“It is in the interest of West
ern society and the United States
in particular to maintain price
stability,” said Dr. Martin David
son, a North Texas State Uni
versity economics professor.
“We don’t want the price ying-
yanging way up and way down
because that’s the most certain
way of destroying the domestic
oil industry.
“There are critical national
defense concerns about our
maintaining a strong domestic
oil industry.”
For example, if the price of oil
began swinging up and down, it
would put the domestic oil in
dustry, which reacts rapidly to
changing market conditions,
into economic spasms.
Hughes Tool Co. spokesman
I.C. Kerridge describes the dril
ler’s mentality this way:
“Drilling for oil is a very risky
business and people don’t like to
have additional uncertainty.
They want to know what taxes
they’ll have to pay and what
prices they’ll get for their pro
ducts.”
Figures compiled by the
Texas Railroad Commission
show that drilling in the state
reached an all-time high last De
cember with 1,458 rigs running.
However, U.S. drilling fell to
its lowest level in 21 months in
May with 3,049 rigs operating,
Kerridge said. Texas rigs
accounted for 929 of that total
— down more than 500 since
INTRODUCING
TWO NEW SPECIALTIES
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MONTEREY $0 QK
TACO SALAD O.iJO
Spicy ground beef, pinto beans, chile con queso, tortilla chips, lettuce,
cheese, tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. Served with guacamole salad.
MONTEREY A K
CHICKEN SALAD
Boneless chicken, chile con queso, tortilla chips, lettuce, cheese,
tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. Served with guacamole salad.
DON'T MISS OUR WEDNESDAY SPECIALS.
MONTEREY
DINNER
*3.85
Reg. $4.85
FIESTA $Q y| R
DINNER ^O.rtO
Reg. $4.45
ENCHILADA
DINNER
Reg. $3.65
V MEXICAN
\<mc
MEXICAN v **-^ r RESTAURANTS
1816 Texas Ave. • 823-8930
907 Highway 30 • 693-2484
December.
Uncertainty over oil prices,
along with seasonal variations
and bad weather, accounted for
the decline, Kerridge said.
What if the price swung down
to the point where imported oil
was cheaper than domestically
produced crude — a situation
which occurred two decades
ago?
“We had a period in the 1950s
when imported crude was
cheaper than domestic crude
and we protected the domestic
industry by putting quotas on
crude oil imports,” Davidson
said. “I think we should have to
do the same thing, should the
price of foreign crude ever get
that low again. It is in the Amer
ican interest to see a stable price
of oil and gas high enough to
encourage domestic exploration
and production.”
Richard Berry, a financial
analyst for Eppler, Guerin &
Turner Inc. in Dallas, said a
drastic drop in oil prices would
have a devastating effect on the
U.S. economy.
“Both Russia and the U.S.
have a strong vested interest in
maintaining the high price of
oil,” he said. “Russia needs to
export oil to earn hard curren
cies to buy grain and other
goods from western countries.
The U.S. needs it because a
great deal of the nation’s tax re
venues are predicated on high
oil prices.
“The U.S. budget deficit
would grow dramatically if the
price of oil fell to $20 a barrel.
Vou would almost completely
wipe out the benefits of the
windfall profits tax which is
based on the difference between
the price you actually get and a
base price of $17-$18 a barrel.
“The price is now around $32
a barrel. If it went to $20, it
would wipe out practically all of
that tax.”
State budgets in oil-
producing areas like Texas,
Oklahoma and Louisiana would
be particularly hurt by a drop in
crude prices.
Severance taxes for oil and
gas production in Texas added
nearly $2.2 billion to state’s cof
fers and accounted for about 28
percent of the total tax revenues
for the 1980-81 fiscal year.
Income from oil and gas
leases and production royalties
on state land funneled another
$784.1 million into the state
treasury.
Income generated from
royalties and leases on Universi
ty of Texas land helped swell the
Permanent University Fund to
$1.42 billion in 1981. With offi
cials looking forward to a $3.25
billion PUFby 1990, a drop in oil
prices could have a negative
effect on higher education.
“The Texas economy would
be particularly hard hit because
the state derives a significant
percentage of its revenues from
royalties on oil and gas produc
tion,” Berry said.
“If oil went to $20 a barrel, the
energy industry in Texas would
be in a virtual state of de
pression.
“The banking industry would
be one of the primary areas
affected, partially because there
are so many loans outstanding to
energy-related companies. But
you have a wide varety of com
panies that provide goods and
services to the petroleum indus
try that would be severely
affected if the price dropped.”
Hundreds of related indus
tries would be affected by de
clining oil prices and thousands
of people — from the guy who
installs storm windows to the
teenager working her way
through school at the local ham
burger stand — would be
affected.
“You take an area like Mid
land or Odessa (in the oil rich
Permian Basin region of West
Texas), if the price of oil fell to
$20 a barrel, the retail trade in
dustry in those areas would col
lapse,” Berry said. “A lot of sav
ings institutions with home
mortgages would be in danger.”
Berry said crude oil prices —
which brought gasoline to the
$l-a-gallon range earlier this
year — are on their way back up.
He attributes much of the rise to
cooperation among the OPEC
nations.
“The OPEC countries have
indeed, for the first time in their
history, acted as a cartel,” he
said. “They have established
production ceilings for each of
the countries and shared among
themselves the production cuts
to support the price that they
desire.”
However, the agreement
seems headed for severe chal
lenges. Already, some of the
OPEC countries — notably Iran
— are ignoring the curtailment.
Still others questioned the pact
at a meeting last month in
Ecuador.
FRANCISCO GOYA (1746-1828) "Que valor!”
GOYA AND THE DISASTERS OF
WAR
Special exhibition lecture presentation by
Mr. Terrell Hillebrand, Director
The Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation
7:30 p.m., Thursday, July 1 — J. Earl Rudder Forum
admission free
Reception in Exhibit Hall for Mr. Hillebrand
follows the presentation.
GOYA: THE DISASTERS OF WAR
from the collection of the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation
J. Earl Rudder Exhibit Hall
June 28 - July 30, 1982
Exhibition sponsored by Texas A&M University Art Exhibits