m™ national Battalion/Page 1i| January 27, Reagan is unconcerned t VVarp€ | d about poor poll ratings by Scott McCull United Press International WASH INGTON — President Reagan said he is not really con cerned about his drop in public opinion polls, “1 don’t think those people (polled) voted for me anyway,” said Reagan with a smile during a picture taking session in the Cabinet Room before the start of the meeting with GOP lieute nants from Capitol Hill. “Are you concerned about your drop in the polls?” a repor ter asked. “Not really,” the president re plied. Two polls released Wednes day reveal Reagan’s standing with the American people has plunged to a new low. A Washington Post-ABC News survey taken Jan. 18-23 found that 54 percent of those questioned disapprove of Reagan’s handling of the pres idency and 42 percent approve of his performance — a negative shift of 1 7 points since October. And for the first time, a majority of 54 percent said he is going too far in plans to boost military spending, and 52 percent said he is going too far in cutting back social programs. And a New York Times-CBS poll, conducted Jan. 16-19, show 47 percent disapprove of the way Reagan is handling his job and 41 percent approve. Deputy press secretary Larry Speakes noted lower mid-term ratings for presidents are a “his toric trend” and predicted they will rise. He said Reagan’s per sonal popularity remains high and said he did not think the speech will have much impact on the polls. He also said Reagan intends to stick with his economic plan and to defend his military buil dup despite attacks on high military spending by key Repub lican leaders. Nigerian ‘ s wap ’’ proposed m THIS IS IT s p r IN a RUS H JAH 27 rock Th® efts B a II TH e m e i e- s S JAN 29 REMOVE HAIR PERMANENTLY ALL PARTIES START AT 8:00 AT ELK’S LODGE FOR MORE INFO CALL 896-8377 Warning, The Surgeon General Has Determined fi’at TKE Is Dangerous to Y..*.-Health. : I Sex, like you’ve never heard it before! FREE ADMISSION TONIGHT RUDDER AUDITORIUM 8:00 PM LOVE IS STILL POSSIBLE IN A JUNKY WORLD Sponsored by: Campus Crusade for Christ, The Navigators, Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship ^ i Delts Pa rt y i i I ! i i I ; I ; I | I | I ; i ; i i X- The P ush B riar wood * Sat. Jan. 28 8 pm to ? Cal 1 696 6875x 779-7550 I Its Free) at the party room U.S. barter: grain for United Press International WASHINGTON — The bumper stickers inspired by the oil and gasoline shortages of the 1970s presented the idea in its simplest terms: “a bushel of wheat for a barrel of oil.” Today, a trade concept being advanced by one Farm Belt con gressman is similar, but the mechanics are more complex. Rep. Cooper Evans, R-Iowa, just back from a week-long visit to Nigeria, is trying to help arrange a modern barter system to boost U.S. grain sales to the African nation by building up American purchases of Nige rian oil. “What we’re talking about is not an exchange per se — so many bushels of corn for so many barrels of oil,” Evans said. Instead, he said, the prop osed project calls for the United States to buy about $35 million of oil from Nigeria. In return, the Nigerians would spend $35 million to import American grain. The arrangement would offer mutual benefits, Evans said, noting that the United States would use up some of its vast grain surpluses and gener ate more income and better prices for American farmers. At the same time, Nigeria would earn the money needed to buy more food for its citizens, he said. The role of the federal gov ernment in the arrangement would be minimal, Evans said. He said that private businesses would arrange the sales. The idea is still under discus sion, and no decisions on whether to proceed are likely for several more months, Evans said. “There are considerably more details to be worked out,” he said. “They will have to de cide whether they want to do this. Companies here want to, but the Nigerian government must decide whether they want to go ahead.” He said the barter arrange- appli< parts of the world, especially in developing countries. Agriculture Secretary John Block has added his endorse ment to the concept, describing barter as an acceptable method of helping expand exports of American agricultural products. “Any way that we can move grain and get reasonable com pensation for it, we certainly would not be opposed to that,” Block said. “I’ve talked to many members of co-ops and some industry people, private industry, that have been working on different barter schemes of grain for oil or grain for some other minerals,” he said. “There’s some hope for it. It’s very difficult, this barter ing process; but where it can be done, it should be done.” Evans characterizes Nigeria as well-suited to participation in a barter arrangement with the United States. “Nigeria is the most promis ing nation in Africa for our agri cultural markets,” he sai ing that its 90 millionmj make up one-quarter of MK. tire African population. H “It is going to needsontik, in feeding its people intht*^ ahead,” he adds. "Butthe stricted now in what thfEw take from us.” Ef forts to arrange tl change of U.S. grain foi rian oil have been accomp by a Nigerian grain firm!J mitment to buy 2 millionki of Iowa corn, Evans said.ij past, that firm has notb corn imports. The Nigerians also a to arrange a venture? Iowa cooperative toexp facilities in their capitalb Lagos as part of an eft modernize graiiHj methods, he said. Bv more grain available ttl country’s farmers, the I modernization also could! expand the Nigerianpoulw dustry. System helps find lost kids Please come join OUR AFFAIR! I Business Career Fair i Feb. 1 & 2 : United Press International LINDEN, N.J. — Union County ordered its sheriffs de puties to county schools for mass fingerprinting of schoolchil dren. The kids had done no thing wrong, but they were undergoing frightful punish ment by the looks on their faces. A crying Luke Brophy, 3, cringed and tried to wipe his eyes with ink-stained hands af ter a uniformed sheriff s officer pressed the child’s tiny fingers to a printed form. His mother, standing beside him, tried to reassure him, but the tears continued. Betty Ann Brophy, 34, of Linden, hoped, along with hundreds of other parents, that having a record of her child’s fingerprints might help track him if he ever dis appeared. “This program really doesn’t make me feel a whole lot safer,” she said. “But it is comforting to know that I’ve done something to ensure his return if some thing does happen.” Union County officials, who began the voluntary program Tuesday at St. Elizabeth’s School, said most of the county’s 44,000 students will have their prints recorded by sprint’ “Too many children an sing and never identified John J. Troiano, a c undersheriff. ‘‘Too man’ rents go through life' knowing what happened* children.” More than lOpercentob million youngsters who appear each year are: found, and more than6,OH identified bodies are each year. Troiano, who devised identification system Iasi said the prints will be hj pa re n t s a n d e n te red in FBI puters in Washington, should the child be abducted, or run away. Almost every othercoui the state has asked forinft tion and indicated they considering similar progfi At the first fingerprintifi sion, Tracy Bramante, eighth grader at the school' she thought the “very important." . gj “There have been a lot nappings and rapes am kids on the street will feels safer,” she said. 19 Faculty and Staff, we have recently received a new shipment of oriental rugs we are offering them to you at Vb off. 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