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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 10, 1989)
Y Texas A&M art 0% FSu.^: .r-OrV* The Battalion WEATHBBL. FORECAST for SATURDAY: Partly cloudy and warm. The spring break forecast calls for above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation. HIGH:78 LOW:59 [Vol. 88 No. 113 USPS 045360 6pages College Station, Texas Friday, March 10,1989 restora- he United nt to learn everybody iys and ii om book- -old Erna •nry Nuss I '701 Main mily busi- is (ar as 1 es who do aid. id, Henn ent, their I n running lizes in re rooks and | ever seen ored the | i to 1410, ■vhat kind | 1-year-o art from eir clients :e and; >st realize - doesn't | in about erage ] a couple I nay have just get- d before ] id,” said Senate ends nomination battle, rejects Tower WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday rejected the nomination of John Tower as defense secretary, 53-47, handing President Bush a major defeat in his first high-stakes showdown with the Demo- cratic-controlled Congress. The White House said Bush would act swiftly to submit a replacement nomination to the Senate. Tower was scuttled by concerns about his drinking habits coupled with senatorial un happiness that he had left his government post as arms negotiator and (juickly began earning hundreds of thousands of dollars as a defense-industry consultant. The vote was the culmination of a tumul tuous six-day Senate debate and closely fol lowed party lines. Howell Heflin of Ala bama, Lloyd Bentsen of Texas and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut were the only Democrats to support the nomination. One Republican — Nancy Kassehaum of Kansas — voted against. Tower, in a statement he delivereci at the Pentagon moments after the vote, said, “I will be recorded as the first Cabinet nomi nee in the history of the republic to he re jected in the first 90 days of a presidency and perhaps be harshly judged. “But I depart from this place at peace with myself, knowing that I have given a full measure of devotion to my country.” Tower said no other public figure “has been subjected to such a far-reaching and thorough investigation, nor had his human foibles bared to such intensive and demean ing public scrutiny.” “And yet, there is no finding that I have ever breached established legal and ethical standards nor been derelict in my duty,” he said. The Senate rendered its verdict in an at mosphere of unusual formality. Vice Presi dent Dan Quayle presided over the session, practically all senators remained in their chairs during the roll call, and the gallery was packed with spectators. “We ought to hang our heads after what we’ve done to this good man,” Senate Re publican Leader Bob Dole of Kansas said in a final defiant speech of support before the roll was called. “America has lost a good public servant. The president has won because he stood by his man.” Majority Leader George Mitchell summed up for the opoonents, saying that Tower’s experience and competence on de fense issues weren’t at issue. But “serious problems exist” with conflict of interest and “character integrity,” he said. He said, “I emphasize my strongly held belief that this should not be interpreted as a vote to harm the president,” but acknowl edged that others saw it that way. The rejection of Tower marked only the ninth time in history that the Senate has turned down a president’s Cabinet nominee and the first such decision since 1959 when the Senate voted against confirming Presi dent Eisenhower’s nominee for secretary of commerce, Lewis L. Strauss. Bush dodged reporters’ questions as he departed for a trip to New York, but his press secretary, Marlin Fitzwater, said, “If necessary, we’ll come up with a (new) candi date very rapidly.” Names most frequently mentioned in White House speculation as a replacement candidate included Sen. John Warner, R- Va., the ranking GOP member of the Sen ate Armed Services Committee and a for mer secretary of the Navy; former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; and former Rep. Jack Edwards, R-Ala. Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser, also was mentioned but told report ers “no,” he was not in line for the post. The debate drew to an end with the last handful of uncommitted senators declaring their intentions. Kassehaum was the only Republican to break ranks with her party. Mayoral hopeful stresses crime problem in Bryan By Fiona Soltes STAFF WRITER Crime rates are on the rise in Bryan and Jo Ann Zaeske wants to do something about it. Zaeske, who owns a tax and financial manage ment services company in Bryan, has filed to run against Mayor Marvin Tate in the May 6 city elections. Zaeske said the Bryan City Coun cil is not taking the action needed against crime. “We have adequate resources to combat the problem,” Zaeske said. “Property taxes, sales taxes, oil and gas revenues and other fees provide the funds. But these funds are being misappropriated. ” Zaeske said these funds should go to the police department. “The primary duty of govern ment is to protect its citizens,” she said. “At a local level, this protection needs to come from the police. The Bryan Police Department is under staffed." Zaeske said theft Yhcreased 353 percent in Bryan f rom 1987 to 1988 and murder increased 250 percent. She said she thinks this is due to the understaffed department as well as a low sales tax base. “I'd like to implement some type of incentive for retail establishments to open in Bryan and increase sales,” she said. “I definitely believe the eco nomic situation in Bryan is part of the crime problem.” Zaeske’s platform not only is con cerned with where revenue should go in the future but also where it has gone in the past. “At a recent council meeting, $45,000 was allocated to neighbor hood sidewalks,” she said. “I think the idea is a good and useful one, but what is the good of having side walks if people are afraid to walk on them because of high crime rates?” Zaeske said the $70,000 spent on a proposed zoning ordinance for Bryan was excessive. “We can find other areas where this money can be used,” she said. “But more importantly, I don't think a comprehensive zoning plati is nec essary. “If the citizens want one, that’s fine. But it should not be decided by a handful of city council members.” Zaeske said the citizens should be allowed to vote on the issue and should be made aware of alterna tives to the plan, including various ordinances or historic districts. Zaeske has been a resident of Bryan since 1964. She has been in volved in management and tax envi ronment positions for more than 20 years, including being an accounting officer at a bank, controller of a Bryan business and working for sev eral public accounting firms. “I know what it takes to run a business and I understand city gov ernment functioning,” she said. Zaeske serves on the boards of di rectors of several Bryan businesses and is a member of the Bryan-Col- lege Station Business and Profes sional Women’s Club. She is married to Lou Zaeske, president of the American Ethie Co alition. U.S. applauds commitment by U.S.S.R. to human rights UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States wel comed Soviet ac ceptance of World Court authority on human rights, but a government legal expert said Thursday the justices probably never will hear a case testing the Kremlin’s commitment. On Wednesday, the Soviet Union said it would accept the court’s jurisdiction in six human rights treaties, re versing its policy of resisting outside judgment of its practices. President Mikhail S. Gorbachev also has spoken re cently in favor of a larger U.N. role in such interna tional areas as arms control and space exploration, which traditionally have been dominated by the Soviet Union and the United States. U.N. and State Department legal officers said his ac ceptance of jurisdiction by the World Court, a U.N. agency, will bring Gorbachev international goodwill with little risk of embarrassment over Soviet human rights practices. It also should help the Soviet effort to hold a human rights conference in Moscow in 1991 as one of several follow-up meetings to the 1975 Helsinki agreements on European security and cooperation. In January, Washington changed its position and said it would accept a Moscow conf erence, citing the So viet release of political prisoners, easing of emigration and more toleration for speech and religios freedoms. The Soviets agreed to the court’s authority on trea ties condemning genocide; banning slavery, racism and torture; and guaranteeing political rights for women. State Department spokesman Charles Redman said the United States welcomes “any step in the submission of disputes of this kind to binding decisions by neutral bodies such as the International Court of Justice,” the; court’s formal name. ITS rs IT. r ■d 1 Eastern Airlines files for bankruptcy; puts blame on pilots union NEW YORK (AP) — Eastern Air lines filed for protection from cred itors in bankruptcy court Thursday, the sixth day of a Machinists strike, blaming pilots for a “cash crisis” that paralyzed the nation’s seventh-larg- est airline. The move came a day after East ern insisted such a step remained a last resort in the airline’s effort to endure the strike, which had strong support from pilots and flight atten dants and was costing Eastern an es timated $4 million a dav. See related story/Page 3 The filing under Chapter 1 1 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York is designed to give Eastern a re prieve from debts while it tries to re structure and extricate itself from the worst crisis in its 60-year history. Eastern boss Frank Lorenzo blamed “the damage that has been caused by the pilots union.” He and Eastern President Phil Bakes insisted they intend to restore the airline in bankruptcy court, though in a smaller form. “We tried mightily to keep East ern from bankruptcy,” Bakes said at a news conference. “We intend to operate our airline — make no mis take about that.” Bakes said Eastern faces a “cash crisis that can only be averted and stabilized by” turning to the bank ruptcy court. Union leaders lashed out at Lo renzo as a “robber baron.” Machin ists called for a public boycott of Eastern's sister airline, Continental, and said they would oppose East ern’s reorganization plan and any sale of assets. Lorenzo and Bakes pledged that all creditors would be paid in full, shareholders would receive “fair va lue,” passengers would be protected, and as many employees as possible would return to work. Eastern had 31,200 employees before the strike. John Peterpaul, a Machinists vice president, said Eastern filed for bankruptcy on payday “in a spiteful attempt to deny Eastern workers their last paycheck earned before the strike.” Paychecks were frozen by the move. John Bavis, head of the Eastern pilots union, said management con tinued calling pilots at home in Frank Lorenzo hopes some will return to work. He said the ef fort would fail. Henry Duffy, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said he hoped the move meant Lorenzo is “finished” at Eastern. The company, which has a stag gering $2.5 billion debt, has ad mitted it was taken by surprise when most of the 3,600 Eastern pilots hon ored Machinists’ picket lines, forcing Miami-based Eastern to shut down nearly all operations Monday and lay off 9,500 non-union employees. Congress amended bankruptcy law in 1984 to require bankrupt companies to negotiate with unions and prove economic necessity before abrogating contracts. Lorenzo stressed the filing cov ered only Eastern and not its parent Texas Air Corp., of which he is chairman. Striking workers accuse Lorenzo of using Chapter 11 to bust union HOUSTON (AP) — Texas Air Corp. Chairman Frank Lorenzo, embroiled in a bitter battle with Eastern Airlines’ unions that pushed the carrier into bank ruptcy protection Thursday, earned an anti-union rep utation years ago when he fought organized labor at Continental Airlines, Eastern’s sister. Eastern, whose parent is Houston-based Texas Air, filed for protection from creditors in a New York fed eral bankruptcy court Thursday morning, the sixth day of a strike by Machinists that virtually shut down the na tion’s seventh-largest carrier and cost it up to $7 million a day. Striking Machinists have made Lorenzo the target of their hatred. Picket signs carried at various airports this week have read, “Lorenzo is scum,” “Labor Yes, Lo renzo No,” and “Lorenzo Makes Millions at Eastern’s Expense.” Pickets have chanted “Eastern yes! Lorenzo no,” and some even have burned signs carrying his name. Hostile emotions run deep among Machinist Union members who believe the 48-year-old Lorenzo would like nothing more than to get rid. of Eastern’s unions, which he accomplished at Houston-based Continental shortly after putting it under bankruptcy protection in 1983.' Lorenzo’s interest in airlines began at an early age. The son of Spanish immigrants w ho lived in New York, Lorenzo already owned stock in Trans World Airlines w hen he graduated from high school in 1957. His father, a beauty salon operator, sent Lorenzo and his tw o brothers to prestigious Fqrest Hills High School in Queens, N.Y. Lorenzo studied economics at Columbia, w here some fraternity brothers called him “Frankie Smooth L'alk.” He received a master’s degree in finance from Harvard Business School in 1963. He helped pay for his education by driving a delivery truck, a position that required him to join the Tea msters Union. Lorenzo lives in Houston’s exclusive River Oaks neighborhood with his wife, three daughters and a son. He is an avid runner and has a private pilot’s license. He avoids the spotlight and rarely grants interviews. Robert T. Sakowitz, president of the Sakowitz Inc. retail chain and a member of Continental’s board of di rectors, told the Houston Post this week that Lorenzo is “very intense, extremely intelligent and very zealous about his family and everything he undertakes.” Lorenzo began his career in the airline industry in 1963 working as an economic analyst for TWA, but he left in 1965 to become manager of Eastern’s financial analysis department. In 1966, he and Harvard class mate Robert Carney formed a financial advisory firm. Three years later, the tw'o men founded Jet Capital Corp., which bought a controlling interest in Texas In ternational Airlines in August 1972. At age 32, Lorenzo became the carrier’s youngest president. After a bitter takeover battle in 1981, Lorenzo merged much larger Continental with Texas Interna tional to create an airline that could compete in the de regulated industry. But Continental was losing nearly $1 million a day by the middle of 1983 and Lorenzo put what w as then the nation’s eighth-largest carrier under bankruptcy pro tection. The airline’s jets were grounded for three days. Pilots and flight attendants joined already-striking Ma chinists. The unions fought Lorenzo unsuccessfully in court and Continental continues to be a non-union carrier. Lorenzo subsequently acquired New York Air, People Express and Frontier Airlines, which have been merged into Continental. Now', it’s Miami-based Eastern that has taken on the fight.