ustxtxb_obs_1959_02_07_50_00003-00000_000.pdf

BOW WILLIAMS A mom bite and General Insurance Budget Payment Plan Strong Stook Companies GReenwood 2-0545 624 LAMAR, AUSTIN Let’s Abolish the Poll Tax! Member of the Piano Technicians Guild, Inc. Douglas R. Strong PIANO TECHNICIAN Tuning, Repairing, Rebuilding .1Ackson 3-1276 808 Harold, Houston 6, Texas vention in October, Herling concludes quoting the leader \(Andy trouble with Texas labor people is that they are trying to be politicians first and labor leaders ‘second. “Furthermore, he \(Bieconsiders Sen. Johnson the ‘hottest man’ in Congress in a long time. His relations with organized labor appear to be cordial, intimate, and reciprocal, and they want to keep it that way.” / Life Line, the broadcasts de voted to hyperconservative doctrines, are sponsored by Life Line Foundation, Inc., “a nonprofit, nondenominational, taxexempt educational foundation” officed in Washington. As of the association’s latest publications, which have reached the Observer, the “Life Line” program is being heard in 14 Texas cities, daily except for two three-days-a-week schedules. / Dick West, Dallas News and V radio editorialist, warns that liberals will control the legislature and the governor’s office in two to four years “unless something drastic” happens. In a governor’s race between Will Wilson and Daniel, although Wilson is appeal ing to some conservatives, West says, “the overwhelming majority of conservatives will support Daniel, and this will automatically drive Wilson and his widespread organization into the liberal camp. This, some of the conservative leaders in Austin would like to avoid, because they see in Wilson a winner and possible victor over Ralph Yarborough in the 1964 Senate race.” …. Rep. Strickland is reported being groomed to oppose Sen. Henry Gonzalez in San Antonio in 1960. Anderson Would Admit ‘King Can Do Wrong’ AUSTIN Rep. Louis Anderson, Midland oilman, has introduced a bill he says will “abrogate the longstanding doctrine of law, ‘The King can do no wrong’.” It would grant every citizen the right to sue any state or city or county governmental body for injuries suffered, without permission from the legislature to sue. “I see no reason why the state or its political subdivisions should be sued like you or me,” Anderson told the Observer. Over $1 1 0 Million Insurance In Force I J1 mfieJ ie 29e INSURANCE COMPANY . 0. Box 8098 Houston, Texas Educators Pleading; Tuition Hike Hinted Lawyers’ Option Bill Advances AUSTIN The Senate Finance and House Appropriations Cornmittees this week heard a long line of college presidents, educators, and budget directors plead for more money to enable the state’s higher education program to rise above “low level mediocrity.” Texas Tech president E. N. Jones told the House committee that proposed new salary schedules in New Mexico would make it “harder than ever” to keep the teachers at Texas colleges. He said if the legislature wrote into law the budget recommendations of the legislative budget board doors open but we could not be proud of the general overall operation.” The Senate finance committee heard Dr. D. W. Walker, finance examiner for the Commission on Higher E du c at i o n, summarize Texas colleges by saying “the 18 state-supported schools in Texas cannot stand up comparatively in the face of similar institutions in other Southern states, land grant college to land grant college, teachers college to teachers college, state university to state university.” Walker pleaded for legislative approval of funds requested f o r research because “Senator, no school is worth a nickel unless it carries on research.” The executive director of the Higher Education Commission, Dr. Ralph Green, told the finance committee, “In Texas we are on the threshold of two big develop The Race Issue Smolders Reps. Winfree, Cole, and Eckhardt were invited to serve as East Texas caucus directors but each declined. Winfree said he would continue as “honorary counsel.” Eckhardt gave as his reason. his status as a freshman member. “The areas represented in the caucus are probably the strongest Democratic areas in Texas,” Eckhardt said. “Harris County is now such an area. There is much common cause in economic affairs and party policy between both urban and rural members. I don’t look at it as an area devolving around a single issue.” One daily quoted Rep. Chapman, Sulphur Springs, saying Eckhardt would not qualify for the caucus, but Chapman said he did not recall saying this. He said that Eck hard t’s participation would be a matter for his own conscience. It appeared, then, that the Harris County delegation would continue to attend the East Texas caucus. The night before the caucus, Eckhardt and Charles Alan Wright, professor of law, University of Texas, spoke before the Austin Commission on Human Relations. Eckhardt expatiated on the theme that earlier Texas lawsuits and consent agreements in which school districts agreed to do away with separate ‘schools for Latin-Americans might offer a guide for the effective solution of persisting segregation of Negroes. Wright reviewed the various laws, and the invariable fates of the various laws, of the SoUthern states for the preservation of segregation; except that he said the pupil assignment law, including the Texas law along this line, has been held constitutional on its face and will be effective in delaying integration. ments in higher education … of some of the sharpest enrollment increases we have ever seen and of moving from low level mediocrity to limited excellence. This budget will not take us all the way but it will lift us from our present low level.” Green appeared before both legislative committees to throw out the suggestion that budget increases might be partially financed by doubling tuition fees charged students to $200 a year: He told the legislators Texas, at $100 a year, is among the lowest four states in the nation in tuition fees per student. John Lynch of Corpus, chairman of the board of Texas A&I at Kingsville as well as senior vice president of Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. and president of La Gloria Oil & Gas Corp., surprised the House committee by saying that he would support personal and corporate income taxes. or general sales taxes “to get this education job done.” Dr. J. G. Flowers, president of Southwest Texas State, San Marcos, said higher salaries are badly needed for librarians. The House committee challenged money-los / The House revenue and taxa tion committee is so solidly conservative, one oil lobbyist calls it “a 50-50 committee, half of them for a sales tax and half against all taxes.” Actually Gov. Daniel’s forces are well represented there. Hearings on non-Daniel liberal tax bills. are unlikely until later. 1/ Gov. Daniel, wrote Allen Duckworth, h a s recovered his political fight, seems ready for a brawl if it’s necessary. Daniel has also, it might be noted, tuned up his sense of humor for the combat. Referring to “all the talk about broad based taxes” at his recent press conference, he said he thinks the franchise tax increase is “pretty broad based; it takes in 40,000 corporations.” / Archer Fullingim, editor of the Kountze News in East Texas, says Gov. Daniel recommends spot sales taxes “because he has not got the guts to recommend a tax on things that ought to be taxed: Namely, money …. Texas needs a state income tax: that would tax the people most able to pay. It does not need a sales tax which would tax the people least able to pay, and bigger taxes on gasoline and beer and cigarettes are just forms of retail sales taxes. Let’s have done with the hypocrisy of cussing the sin of liquor, beer, cigarettes, and then turning right around and living off it.” ./ The Observer erred reporting V the Hale-Aikin committee finally recommended diverting delay rentals to the available school fund. The recommendation was contained in the “tentative final” report, was included in a teachers’ association summary of the committee’s recommendations, b u t was knocked out at the last stage. JCorpus Christi Caller calls the bills introduced for preschool instruction in English for the non-English speaking child “probably the most constructive . legislation offered in the 56th legislature to date.” Such students are the “No. 1 problem of education in Texas” according to the Texas Education Agency, the paper said. / The Caller also sided with Reps. Kennard, Korioth, and AUSTIN Shifting gears, the legislature passed a few minor bills last week and buckled in for the big committee hearings the next few weeks. The Sena t e’s jurisprudence committee reported without dissent Sen. Lane’s bill to abolish the requirement that a 11 of the state’s 13,650 lawyers must pay the $12 a year membership fee in the State Bar. A motion to recommit the bill to committee was killed 16-15, Lt. Gov. Ramsey breaking a tie. Lane calls his bill the right to work bill for lawyers. Rep. V. L. Ramsey, Beckville, chairman of the tax committee in the House, said a number of the 12 tax bills introduced will not be considered until the appropriations situation clears up. The committee heard extended discussion on Gov. Daniel’s proposal to try to include as assets against the deficit $18 million ordinarily held in a suspense fund for the preceding biennium. Rep. Joe Ed Win ing athletics programs in some of the colleges. Chief Clerk Moon Mullins of the land office said the office collects $30 million a year in royalties and leases and could collect more with more appraisers and accountants to check around. Spears against the Legislative Council, arguing that the people will not trust the legislature to set new small loan rates and that the law should set the new rates this session. The `council’s proposal would authorize abolition of the 10 percent limit upon enactment by the legislature of a new interest rate. 7 The Houston Post renewed its v call for a public defender system, noting the bills by Sen. Gonzalez and Reps. Whitfield and Johnston. “Under the present system in Texas by which courts appoint defense attorneys to aid indigents, the chance for miscarriages of justice is great,” the paper said. Rep. Joe Burkett is toying seriously with a second bid for speaker. Reps. Spilman, Hale, and Glusing are running; Rep. Dugas says he’ll run if Burkett doesn’t. There is a substantial “nopledge” group who are holding out to see how the ball bounces. JStraw in the wind: Dallas Times Herald amusements editor Bob Brock criticized a recent NBC report on segregation in Atlanta as “a trifle one-sided in favor of the segregationists.” ./ The NAACP reorganizes in V Texas March 14-15 with Roy Wilkins, national executive secretary, among the speakers. / Cameraman Jimmy Blundell V and newsman Lyman Jones are paired in a TV news service at the legislature which provides daily newsfilm coverage to TV ‘stations in Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. / The Washington Daily News, V in a column by John Herling, has reported that Sen. Johnson “appears to be no hero to large sections of organized labor and liberal Democrats in his home state of Texas.” Citing the Observer’s charge that Johnson has “throttled the cause of Texas liberalism for more than a decade” and our report on the silence that greeted a Washington labor leader’s plaudits for Johnson and Rayburn at the state labor con THE TEXAS OBSERVER Page 3 Feb. 7, 1959 free, Houston, said he’d listened for three hours and was more confused than everis opposed to the change. The Belden Poll said Texans think, 62 to 17 percent, that present revenues are adequate for state needs; they are “relatively uninformed,” Belden concluded. Sen. Bruce Reagan, Corpus, responded to editorial criticism of the plans to ask the people to lift the 10 percent loan interest limit contingent on the legislature enacting a higher rate later. He said the State Banking Commission will be asked to recommend a “fair rate” if the voters authorize abolition of the present ceiling. More than 1,000 “lobbyists” pro and amateurhave registered. There seems to be some prestige attached on which the law-writers did not count. On the other hand, only a few senators and less than a third of the representatives have filed statements under the code of ethics law. They don’t have to file unless they have interests subject to state regulation. Gov. Daniel, Lt. Gov. Ramsey, and Speaker Carr, as well as 26 representatives, e i g h t senators, and a large group of West Texans, attended the West Texas Chamber of Commerce breakfast. In San Antonio the director of the southern region, National Probation and Parole Assn., told 100 members of the Bexar County cit izens’ youth council that efforts to drop the juvenile age to 16 are ill advised. “To threaten a young offender with punishment is like threatening a child with hospitalization unless he gets well,” said Frederick Ward, Jr., of Austin. Dallas D.A. Henry Wade declared drivers’ licenses should be taken away from habitual traffic violators. Responding to the Observer story on the state hospitals’ board rule against employees talking to legislators except on direct request, J. D. Givens, Austin district representative of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, said, “It’s a dirty trick. I think they’re taking away a few rights there. This proves the need of a public employees’ union to represent these people.”