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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1985)
i ary ation mp it month to “exprej >aihv for those h for the families •ted.” fie spit it of Reagi “mission of prevetj m tragedy anywhtj *r again." isit to Bergen-Belsti af ter Jewish group ins’ organizations a- e over the presideni le German warcera Ililillili Turning water into fuel Nobel laureate explains research Page 4 — Baylor gets final crack at A&M TH'eBattalion 1.80 No. 138 (JSPS 045360 12 pages College Station, Texas Tuesday, April 23,1985 U.S. Consul-Generi Uifaert E. Tynes English to the g; in, which said “rec^ orrors of the past is ite to those w l fi was broadcast in television. ■ slowly and sombeil] sen survivors now ithered around the It i wearing a small • word “Remember House gives tentative OK to fee hikes Associated Press AUSTIN — Uhe House, working under a game plan aimed at avoid ing a tax hike, tentatively approved a ddle of the fieldih fee hike bill Monday that would bring the state $106 million over the next two years. The measure includes a $2 in- 11 towns of Bergendii crease > n the cost of a four-year driv- mtles northufHis tfs license, which is now $10. Also d by liberating Bit included are hikes in state court ftl- " ing fees, solid waste permits, day care license and registration fees and milk inspection fees that could cause a fraction of a cent increase in milk prices. Monday’s vote was 97-4*4. The bill ^acesafinal vote, probably today, be fore going to tne Senate, where there is talk of a larger fee hike. Though some House members said it is a tax bill, Speaker Gib Lewis aid it is not. "We passed a fee bill which tries to cover, and in some cases does not come anywhere dose, the cost of what it costs the state to perf orm va rious duties,” he said. None of the fees would be higher than the cost to the state, according sponsor Rep. Jim Rudd, D- Brownfield. . M % The Lewis plan for avoiding a tax I M M hike this year includes the fee bill, a M lollege tuition hike of about $280 a nillion and several minor money ■ Imeasures. The appropriations bill — a pro- wsed two-year state budget of $86.4 illion — is set for House debate Wednesday. The fee bill carries an amendment that kills the measure if lawmakers don’t approve Belton Rep. Bill Mes ser's bill aimed at cutting about 20,000 state jobs. During debate, several members referred to the measure as a “tax wreaths were laii owering stone mis tiddle ol d the death camp. which lay halfway i» prevent the spread f reiman, 05, a rant i and a Bergen-Beha lost bet husband, (htet and seven bit amps, told I he As# duiing the cerenw difficult to come hm i esponsibility to i emembet what hty people want to should make themrt to Donalds i® •AST EVERY iRMNG jnts softball playoffs >ril 24. Remem- leek the sched- WILL BE director of Intfa- as A&M. Dennis a National Intra- 04 EAST KYLE AT6P.M, bill,” but afterward, one member who voted against it called it “a reve nue enhancement measure.” “In a sense, it’s a tax bill,” said Rep. Gerald Geistweidt, R-Mason. “Somebody is going to be paying the greater cost of government. “But as far as fee bills go it’s prob ably a pretty fair and equitable one that doesn’t take more than the cost of the service.” Geistweidt preferred tackling the appropriations bill, making all possi ble cuts and then looking for more money. “It’s a tax bill because in many of the items, like the milk inspection fee, we’re putting an additional fee or tax on the industry and expecting them to pass it on to the customers, he said. “It's not much different than a sales tax in that regard.” The milk inspection fee hike would translate into an increase of about one-twelfth of a cent on the retail price of a gallon of milk, said Cleburne Rep. Bruce Gibson, a dairy farmer. Gibson, who voted for the mea sure, said he likes to call it a fee bill, not a tax bill. “If this bill doesn’t pass, the next one will be a tax bill, no question whatsoever,” he said. “That’s why I’m a strong believer that this is a fee bill.” Jim Turner, Gov. Mark White’s legislative lobbyist, said White is “generally supportive” of the fee hike measure. “He also is aware there’s a fee bill being put together in the Senate that may oe significantly larger than this bill,” Turner said. “The governor’s posture is he has to be in a position to help forge that compromise be tween those two fee bills for us to get out of here this session.” Stor Gazing Photo by WAYNEL.GRABEIN Standing on the bottom floor in the center of seen on the dome’s ceiling. The capitol in the Texas State Capitol the T, E, X, A and S Austin is fashioned after the U.S. Capitol in surrounding the center star can barely be Washingion, D.C. Attorneys hiring ‘spies’ to observe trials s .austsen i/ells iarity & Sandra it Millie Higgs ay rs isored in the at University ories are 3 by Joel Hickersor Basile. Associated Press HOUSTON — Trial lawyers are hiring courtroom observers —other wise referred to as surrogates, mir rors, shadows or spies — to let the at torneys know what a jury wants to hear. "They are being used more and more, especially in big cases with jcomplicated fact situations,” said Byr- ron McCoy, a professor at the Uni versity of Houston’s Bates College of |law. “In a trial, communication is crit ical," he said. “These mirrors are able to give lawyers day-to-day feed back. Its too late after a trial is over to ask the jury if they understood the facts of the case.” Hired observers were used last month by lawyers representing At torney General Jim Mattox in his commercial bribery case. Mattox was acquitted. “We found out from them what the jury was tired of hearing and what they wanted to hear more of,” said Austin lawyer Roy Minton, who defended Mattox. Mirrors currently are being used in Galveston where a federal court jury will decide if a dozen corpora tions are liable for damages to 50 men who worked with products that contained asbestos. The three men and a woman hired by the asbestos company cre ated a stir during pretrial discussions when plaintiff attorney Robert Bal lard expressed concern the mirrors, who are designed to simulate jurors, might interfere with the presenta tion of his case. U.S. District Judge Hugh Gibson met privately with three of the mir rors and after learning that two of them had spoken with some mem bers of the jury, Gibson warned the mirrors, “Neither of you is to con tact, accost, talk to or have any rela tions with members of the jury.” In both the Mattox and asbestos case, the mirrors were hired without any knowledge of whom they were working for. “This keeps them objective,” said Minton, who hired an Austin firm to hire the eight mirrors he used in the Mattox case. At the end of each day of testi mony, a trial consultant, also hired by Minton, would ask the mirrors to judge the lawyers’ performance. The consultant would then meet with the lawyers and tell them if they were getting their point across. “Td use them again,” said Minton, who acknowledged their use is ex pensive at $10 an hour. “In the Mat tox case, they confirmed for us that the jury was sick and tired of hearing tape recordings and wanted to hear more from the defendant (Mattox).” Committee looks at aid to colleges Associated Press AUSTIN — The Senate Finance Committee voted Monday to set aside $5 million for colleges that might lose enrollment if tuition goes up and to open law school doors to more out-of-state students. The votes were taken as the com mittee moved closer to adopting a two-year state budget proposal of approximately $36 billion. The budget would balance with out new taxes only if tuition is in creased significantly and state serv ice fees, such as for a drivers’ license, also are raised. Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby once again sat in on the committee session, at the elbow of chairman Grant Jones, and Sen. John Traeger, D-Seguin, asked, smiling, “I can’t hear whaf s going on in the subcommittee. Is the micro phone set on mumble?” Legislative Budget Board staffers acknowledged that in estimating the revenue from a proposed tuition in crease they had not considered a possible drop in college enrollment because of the higher cost. “My indications are that there will be some reduction in student enroll ment,” said Sen. Ed Howard, D-Tex- arkana, “and $5 million won’t cover but a few (schools).” Jones, D-Abilene, said most other states also are raising tuition so the increase in Texas “would not be as dramatic ... as it appears to be.” Hobby, who proposed the three fold tuition increase for September, said, “We don’t even know mat there will be a loss at any of them.” Sen. Ray Farabee, D-Wichita Falls, won 3-2 approval of a special budget provision that would raise the num ber of out-of-state students who can be admitted to Texas law schools. The current restriction is 10 per cent, and Farabee suggested 20 per cent. “We can’t have a national or inter national law school,” said Farabee, a graduate of the University of Texas Law School. “We need to loosen up a little bit.” Sen. Carl Parker, D-Port Arthur, responded, “I can understand new blood teaching but tell me why we need new blood learning?” Farabee said with the increased tuition out-of-state students “would be carrying their own.” • Parker said when “A” Texas stu dents apply to UT and someone from New York or New Jersey is oc cupying the place “that puts the frosting on me.” Financier pleads guiltyto bank fraud Associated Press Fi- KNOXVILLE, Tenn. nancierjake Butcher, whose $1.5 billion financial empire crumbled in one of the worst bank failures in U.S. history, pleaded guilty Monday to bank fraud involving more than $40 million. The guilty plea culminated a two-year feaeral investigation of Butcher-related bank failures that left the Federal Deposit In surance Corp. holding $699 mil lion in uncollectable loans. Butcher, who rose from pro prietor of a tiny gasoline distrib utorship to become a powerful two-time gubernatorial candidate and chief organizer of Knoxville’s 1982 World's Fair, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to eight counts of bank fraud and agreed to enter guilty pleas to four counts of tax evasion. The government intends to seek a maximum sentence of 20 years, U.S. Attorney John W. Gill said. If Butcher receives that sen tence, he would have to serve a minimum of about 6V2 years, said U.S. District Judge William K. Thomas, who will issue the sen tence at a later date. Butcher, 48, admitted to de frauding his banks out of $40.8 million in the months before his $1.5 billion financial empire col lapsed. As each paragraph of the plea bargain agreement was read, Butcher rose in court to say “Yes sir,” when the judge asked him if the charges were correct. In addition to the pleas, Butcher agreed to enter guilty E leas in Memphis and London, ,y., on bank fraud charges and return to Knoxville to plead guilty to four counts of tax eva sion. In return for the pleas, all other charges will be dropped. The Feb. 14, 1983, failure of Butcher’s United American Bank of Knoxville was the third largest bank failure since the Depression and left the FDIC holding $395 million in uncollectable loans. In the midst of a renaissance China opening to Western ideas Associated Press PEKING — From disco to Disney, and British rock idols to bluejeans, China is opening to the outside world on an unprecedented scale. Though Deng Xiaoping's commu nist regime warns against letting for eign decadence poison its economic reforms, it’s exposing China’s one billion people to alien pleasures, products and technology denied for decades. “What we are doing today is auda cious,” 80-year-old Deng told Japa nese visitors last month. “However, if we do not do it, our future will be difficult.” The government is cracking down on pornography, lotteries and other “unhealthy tendencies,” but the overall relaxation is profoundly af fecting what Chinese buy, eat, play, watch, and wear. Television advertisements — once considered a capitalist evil — now bombard consumers with messages about Chinese-made trucks, refrig erators, instant noodles and under arm deodorant. Entertainment ventures include plans for a Walt Disney-type fun- Young men in the cities are scrambling to purchase three-piece suits, flashy neckties, leather shoes, tight bluejeans, tape players and motorbikes, status symbols in a society that still moves mostly by bicycle. land, a Hollywood-style film city and a racetracK, without gambling, named after the Mongol conqueror Kublai Khan. Bowling alleys have opened in Shanghai and Peking. Billiards, for merly banned as a bourgeois pas time, is now played in the streets and in the teahouses of southern China. The vast majority of Chinese still dress in ordinary blues and grays, living frugally in a society where 80 percent of the people are peasants who earned an average of $122 per capita in 1984. But voung men in the cities are scrambling to purchase three-piece suits, flashy neckties, leather shoes, tight bluejeans, tape players and mo torbikes, status symbols in a society that still moves mostly by bicycle. In the southern city of Canton, long-haired youths hang out on Jap anese motorcycles, smoking Ameri can cigarettes. Urban women crowd shop coun ters to buy cosmetics and perfume. In Shanghai, China’s largest city and fashion capital, the rage is mascara, pierced ears and fur coats. China’s clothing craze is the envy of visitors from other communist countries, especially the Soviet Union. Russian train crews from the trans-Siberian line haggle with Pe king hawkers over bell-bottom pants and high-heeled shoes. Family-run beauty parlors dot streets from Peking to tne sub-trop ics of Xishuangbanna near Burma. Department store fashion shows at tract standing-room-only crowds. Last month, the Communist Youth League sponsored China’s first beauty pageant since the 1949 revolution, with a field of nearly 700 young men and women vying for honors in a Canton hotel ballroom. Couples are unabashedly cud dling on park benches and attend dances at workplaces and schools, habits considered blasphemous only last year. Among the most obvious soft ening is the official approval for Western pop music, unoerscored by the unprecedented tour of Peking and Canton by the British group Wham! early this month. The All-China Youth Federation, which was permitted to invite the rock group, said it is considering a tour by Britain’s queen. This change is astounding in a country where pop, jazz and rock were reviled in Mao Tse-tung’s 1966-76 Cultural Revolution and again in a campaign against “spiri tual pollution” early last year. As if to allay fears tnat dancing will be banned again, the state-run Peking Hotel has turned its main lounge into a nightly disco, with blinking lights and ear-splitting loudspeakers.