The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 05, 1983, Image 1

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^■■TexasA&M W%
The DQTfQiion
Serving the University community
\/ol. 76 No. 149 DSPS 045360 20 Pages In 2 Sections
College Station, Texas
Thursday, May 5,1983
jrhese students seem to have Chemistry Building. Finance major John
forsaken studying for finals in order to Cook, left, and management major Mike
float in the fountain in front of the Peterson are both from Dallas.
Reagan says Soviet arms
roposal ‘encouraging’
United Press International
■WASHINGTON — President
■agan says Soviet leader Yuri
Andropov’s new arms control prop
osal is encouraging and the United
States will give it serious considera
tion before the Geneva talks resume
Mav 17.
■ Reagan accented the positive on
the Andropov proposal to count war
heads instead of missiles when he was
■terviewed in the Oval Office
Wednesday by six White House re
porters.
The president said the Soviets
have moved in the direction of the
United States’ position on counting
warheads rather than launchers and
added “this is what we should be
■gotiating.”
■ “We’re going to to this serious con
sideration as we do any proposal they
make,” he said.
Before taking off on a Western
trip, Reagan arranged to meet with a
group of Republican and Democratic
lawmakers today to discuss the MX
commission recommendations before
taking off on a Western swing.
He said he would discuss the
Andropov proposal with Paul Nitze,
the chief negotiator at the intermedi
ate-range missile talks, before Nitze
flies back to Geneva later in the
month.
He acknowledged the Andropov
offer contains the condition, rejected
by the United States, that British and
French forces be counted along with
U.S. missiles set for deployment in
Europe.
“The encouraging thing was that
he made a proposal and it was a prop
osal aimed at something that has been
a consideration of ours,” he said.
As to whether the Kremlin is mak
ing a sincere offer, Reagan said:
“You won’t know until you’re really
sitting across the (negotiating) table
from them whether this was just
propaganda or a proposal.”
Defense Secretary Caspar Wein
berger struck the same note of optim
ism telling a Pentagon news confer
ence Andropov’s agreement to the
U.S. proposal to count warheads in
stead of missile launchers in the nego
tiations “a good thing.”
But Weinberger said the Soviet
emphasis on including British and
French missiles in the negotiations
bothers him. “I wouldn’t think that is
going to be a very useful path to pur
sue if we really want arms reduction
results,” he said.
Iran expels diplomats,
outlaws communist party
United Press International
IBEIRUT, Lebanon — Iran, im
plying the Soviet Union aided a plot
to overthrow Ayatollah Ruhollah
Piomeini, Wednesday outlawed the
communist Tudeh Party and ordered
18 Soviet diplomats to leave the coun
try by the weekend.
I Without linking Moscow directly
to the plot, Tehran said the Soviets
were “interfering with the internal
affairs of the Islamic republic
through establishing contacts and
Iking advantage of treacherous and
lercenary agents.”
| Khomeini, in a message broadcast
by Tehran Radio, commended the
government for its crackdown on the
Tudeh Party, which included the
arrest of executive committee mem
bers in addition to its leader.
Word of the expulsions was re
leased Wednesday after the Soviet
Ambassador to Tehran V.K. Bol
dyrev, was summoned to the Iranian
Foreign Ministry.
He was told 18 Soviet diplomats,
including three military attaches,
were declared persona non grata and
had 48 hours to get out of Iran, the
Islamic Republic News Agency said.
He was told the diplomats had been
declared persona non grata and had
48 hours to get out of Iran, the Isla
mic Republic News Agency said.
The specific charges included
“espionage activities for the benefit of
foreign powers,” illegal possession of
weapons, infiltration of government
agencies, including the military, and
sabotage of industrial plants.
The events came a week after
police arrested several top leaders of
the 42-year-old pro-Moscow com
munist organization, including its
leader, Nurreddin Kianouri, who
purportedly confessed to spying for
the Soviets.
passes arms
agreement
House
freeze
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Joyous spon
sors of a nuclear freeze resolution
that passed the House overwhelming
ly claimed a “great victory” for Amer
icans and a repudiation of President
Reagan’s arms control policies.
But the 278-149 approval came
after resolution sponsors, mainly
Democrats, lost a key point. Republi
cans succeeded in attaching an
amendment that would allow arms-
control negotiators to set a time limit
on how long a negotiated freeze
would remain in effect without arms
reductions.
In return, Republicans agree to
drop consideration of more than 30
pending amendments.
Resolution author Edward Mar-
key, D-Mass., called the approval “a
historic vote to repudiate a sitting
president’s negotiating position with
the Soviet Union” at the Strategic
Arms Reduction Talks in Geneva.
“It is the position of the House of
Representatives, as voiced through an
overwhelming vote here this evening,
the American people want a freeze
now in the nuclear-arms race between
the United States and the Soviet Un
ion, and then substantial reductions
to follow that nuclear freeze,” he said.
The resolution, which now goes to
the Senate where its chances of pas
sage are dim, calls on the United
States and the Soviet Union to negoti
ate an “immediate mutual and verifi
able freeze” on production, develop
ment and deployment of nuclear
weapons, then reduce their nuclear
arsenals.
President Reagan, who repeatedly
warned its passage would tie the
hands of U.S. arms negotiators and
send the wrong message to the
Soviets, had no immediate comment
on the vote.
Rep. William Broomfield, RMich.,
who led the freeze opposition as rank
ing Republican on the House Foreign
Affairs Committee, said the adoption
of more than 30 amendments during
six days of debate “really pointed out
the imperfection” of the original re
solution.
Prof doubts authenticity
Hitler diaries ‘suspicious’
by Catherine Campbell
Battalion Reporter
There’s an 80 percent chance that a
62-volume set of diaries supposedly
written by Adolf Hitler is a forgery,
says a Texas A&M Nazi history spe
cialist.
“Of course, I haven’t seen them
(the diaries), but as I understand it,
the handwriting is not consistent with
Hitler’s handwriting,” said Dr.
Arnold Krammer, professor of his
tory and author of two books and
more than 20 articles on Nazi Ger
many.
“Hitler wrote in crabbed sentences
with tightly compressed words but the
diaries are written in a long and leng
thy scrawl,” Krammer said.
The 8-by-12 inch, one-half inch
thick, imitation-leather bound diaries
were first shown to the public in April
from a Swiss bank vault in Zurich.
The actual story of how they arrived
in the bank vault still is questionable.
Gerd Heidemann, a journalist for
Stern magazine — a West German
publication — followed a “long-shot
lead” and researched the story of a
plane crash near a small village in East
Germany. In 1945, an airplane car
rying some of Hitler’s possessions
taken from his bunker in Berlin
crashed in Bornersdor just days be
fore Hitler’s death. Some documents
were reputed to have been carried
away from the plane crash by some of
the villagers.
Krammer said he feels the whole
matter of the discovery was handled
rather poorly because the diaries are
being rushed into print by Stern,
which could lead many to believe the
diaries are authentic even though
proof has not been established.
“If I would have to choose the one
thing that leads me to believe the
diaries are forged, I’d say it’s because
Dr. Arnold Krammer
there’s no difference in the handwrit
ing during tumultous events such as
when Hitler’s right hand was injured
in an assasination attempt in 1944,”
Krammer said.
“I don’t think Hitler was writing
for posterity because these aren’t the
words one leaves behind for poster
ity,” he said. “It seems there are no
profound thoughts or bombastic
ideas, just the daily mutterings of a
megalomanic. If he were writing for
posterity, Hitler would have at least
tried to be profound.”
Hitler had written quite a lot before
and during World War I, even to his
landlord and tax collector, but even
tually turned to dictating his letters,
Krammer said. Hitler even dictated
his first book, “Mein Kampf,” from
his jail cell to Rudolph Hess in the
next cell, he said.
Another reason Krammer believes
the diaries may be forgeries is because
no one had ever mentioned them be
fore. Somehow the diaries’ existence
had escaped notice of even the closest
of Hitler’s aides — including his valet
who wrote an extensive biography ab
out Hitler without ever mentioning
the diaries.
Krammer also questions the au
thenticity of the diaries due to the fact
that they came out of East Germany.
“For political reasons, East Ger
many would like to make the West
Germans look like rabid Nazi sym
pathizers,” Krammer said.
“It’s just too fortuitous that the
diaries come at the peak of interest. It
is the 50th anniversary of the Nazis’
rise to power in Germany and it’s also
odd that the diaries were discovered
in April, the very same month Hitler
committed suicide,” Krammer said.
“Now the curious thing is, if the
find isn’t real, then who did it?”
Krammer said. “If a neo-Nazi group
did it, then it could rehabilitate Hit
ler’s image and might humanize him.
It also could make him seem more in
control than he was.
“In some incidences in the diaries,
it makes him look like a peacemaker
which we knew he was not,” he added.
Although he led a sloth-like exist
ence — waking late and taking lei
surely walks after breakfast, Kram
mer said, Hitler did have the self-
See HITLER page 14
Corps’ increasing enrollment due
to extra job security, officials say
Editor’s note: This is the first of a
two-part series on the future of the
Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M.
by Diana Sultenfuss
Battalion Staff
Today’s graduates are finding
that a college degree no longer is
an insurance policy for employ
ment. In the search for jobs, some
are turning to Uncle Sam.
Enrollment in Reserve Officer
Training Corps programs is
booming across the nation, as tens
of thousands of students find
ROTC scholarships and the prom
ise of post-graduation employ
ment too good to pass up. And at
Texas A&M, the path to ROTC
leads to membership in the Corps
of Cadets.
“The popularity of ROTC
nationwide is increasing,” Corps
Commandant Donald L. Burton
said. “That’s going to tend to draw
more students into participation in
the Corps at Texas A&M.”
they’re the buyers and not the sel
lers. They’re picking the people
that they want.”
Abbott said military standards
have been raised — 90 percent of
all enlisted men now have high
school diplomas and the majority
of the officers have above a 2.5
college grade point average.
Burton said he thinks the cali
ber of entering freshmen will in
crease.
“The two biggest things that are
going to change in the Corps in the
next 10 years are in the areas of
academic achievement and acade
mic background,” Burton said.
“There will be more technical and
more management skills.
“The sort of skills demanded
(by the military) are going to re
quire knowledge of computers
and mathematics, the ability to
think analytically, and the ability to
manage systems.”
Cadets not only have to grasp
staff photo by Bill Schulz
Freshman cadet Nathon Abbott and sophomores Greg
Bowen and Pat Allen, from left, take advantage of call to
quarters to study. The cadets are members of Squadron F.
Horse race betting
measure ‘not dead
unroumeni m tne u.orps oe-
clined throughout the 1960s and
early 1970s, but now is on the up
swing. Of the 36,000 students en
rolled here, 1,950 — about 6 per
cent — are cadets.
The Corps will commission 250
officers this year and next year.
Texas A&M is the largest produc
er of military officers of any uni
versity outside the service acade
mies.
“Our reputation in the military
services is quite high,” Burton said.
“Officers from Texas A&M hold
their own with officers from West
Point.”
Preston Abbott, 1983-84 Corps
commander, said: “The military is
getting into the situation where
skills, they also have to maintain a
favorable image at the University.
And they seem to be succeeding.
President Frank E. Vandiver
calls the Corps “the core of a lot of
Aggie traditions and the outward
symbol of Texas A&M.
“I certainly expect that they will
remain a central force and have a
great deal to do with maintaining
the character of Texas A&M. I
hope they get up to a force of at
least 3,000 for maximum effective
ness.”
Burton says he feels the Corps
will achieve this growth.
“Two things will cause this: an
influx of more freshmen coming
into the Corps and better reten
tion,” he said. “If they keep their
grades up and good leadership
continues, I wouldn’t be surprised
to see the Corps of Cadets at 4,000
in the next five years, certainly
within 10 years.”
Abbott says this is a possibility,
but it will take a lot of work and a
good recruiting program.
Brian Terrell, 1983-84 deputy
Corps commander, said the Corps
needs to work on grades and the
relationship between the Corps
and civilians.
“If we can continue to maintain
an acceptable academic perform
ance and an acceptable relation
ship with the rest of the University,
including the administration, then
we can nearly ensure our longev
ity,” Terrell said. “We do an all
right job now, and we’re making
progress in both areas, especially
grades.”
Abbott agreed. “Relationships
with civilian students will be im-
See CORPS page 14
United Press International
AUSTIN — The author of a bill to
legalize horse race betting is honing
his persuasion skills in hopes of get
ting one last stab at bringing the Sen
ate-approved gambling measure to
the House floor for debate.
House Speaker Pro-Tern Hugo
Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi, refused
to concede that a narrow committee
vote against his racing bill spelled
death for parimutuel wagering in the
1983 legislative session.
“It’s still at the starting gate,” Ber
langa said Wednesday.
The House Urban Affairs Com
mittee voted 8-7 against the betting
measure Tuesday. A second vote to
report the bill unfavorably — a move
that would have resulted in a “minor
ity report” enabling debate on the me
asure by the full House — also failed
8-7.
Berlanga said he now is concentrat
ing on changing the mind of at least
one opponent so the bill can be resur
rected in the committee to allow the
150-member House to debate the me
asure.
“It will take another committee
vote to get it to the floor,” said Berlan
ga, who originally blamed the mea
sure’s defeat on one committee mem
ber’s confusion over complicated par
liamentary procedures that plagued
the lengthy debate.
But the speaker pro-tem said
Wednesday that Rep. A1 Edwards, D-
Houston — the swing vote on a com
mittee that was split 7-7 going into
Tuesday’s meeting — apparently
“just wasn’t ready to vote for the bill.”
“I had hoped that during the
course of the action last night that Mr.
Edwards or somebody would see fit to
change their mind and vote for it,”
Berlanga said. “But I didn’t anticipate
12 amendments, six points of order
and an appeal of (a parliamentary rul
ing by) the chairman.”
The betting bill, which passed last
week in the Senate, would legalize
horse race betting upon the issue’s
approval in a statewide referendum.
Local option elections then would
clear the way for tracks to operate in
individual counties.
inside
Around Town 4
Classified 8
Local 3
Opinions 2
Sports 11
State 4
National 8
Police Beat 4
What’s up 13
forecast
Clear to partly cloudy skies today
with a high of 83. Winds from the
south at 10 to 15 mph. Mild tem
peratures tonight with a low of 64.
For Friday, partly cloudy with a
high near 85.