ustxtxb_obs_1959_03_07_50_00006-00000_000.pdf

Over $120 Million at 4-Insurance In Force INSURANCE COMPANY P0. Box 8098 Houston, Texas / A Conversation On Firetraps: A Clause in Time Saves What? I City Culture, ’59 AUSTIN After a round of conversations with Legislative Budget Board staff director Vernon McGee on safety conditions in Texas institutions, the Observer this week is lost in a maze of “unobligated balances,” a little known paragraph in an appropriation bill, and an emphatic declaration by COALITION VOTES ‘HOOVER’ STUDY Rep. Dick Cory’s bill establishing a “little Hoover Commission” weathered a series of crippling amendments and a last gasp point of order and passed to third reading in the House despite opposition of militant conservatives led by Byron Tunnel]. of Tyler, Louis Dugas of Orange, and Frates Seeligson of San Antonio. Eight votes were taken on amendments so involved that liberals and conservatives often lined up together. The bill passed 97 to 44, with most of the “no” votes coming from the conservatives. Cory’s bill would establish a p r iv a t e commission patterned along the lines of the Hoover Commission to “study not investigate” all state agencies to eliminate overlapping services. The commission would be composed of twelve members, two appointed by the Governor, five by the speaker of the House, and five by the lieutenant governor. Only two representatives and two senators would serve on the commission, the other eight members coming from private life. Opposition centered around the theme “the bill took still more authority out of the hands of the legislature,” \(Reps. Dugas and “would be too costly an economy move” \(Reps. Tunnell and Charles ing but a political football” \(Rep. ment to have the work done by the legislative council was tabled 84-51; Sandahl’s amendment to place a ceiling on salaries paid staff members hired by the commission was tabled ’76-63; and Tunnell’s amendment to have the work done by the privately-financed Texas Research League was tabled 87-52. In speaking for his amendment, which drew strong conservative support, Tunnell said, “The Texas Research League said they would make this study, and they estimate it would cost $1, million for the four years. Let me say the heat is on and if you can’t go along with me, I’ll understand.” Cory moved to table because “there always would be the question in future years that the study was influenced by private money.” He added that the Tunnell amendment, authorizing state employees to work under a private group, was “not right, and probably unconstitutional.” The amendment was defeated by a liberal-moderate coalition. Speaker Carr overruled a point of order as the House gave the bill final approval. Youth Council Director Dr. James Turman, who all hands agree how ever, has the right slant on things. McGee said “prudent administration” could provide agencies with funds to replace fire hazards. He amplified his remarks by quoting out of H. B. 133 of the last legislature. “A lot of things can be done to replace fire hazards,:’ McGee said. “If an administrator is prudent with his budget as a conservative administrator will be, he’ll come out with a little budget surplus. It’s almost impossible to come out right to the penny at the end of the year. Now, you multiply all these little unobligated balances at each institution and you have a sizable amount of money that can be used to combat fire hazards. You take Gatesville, now. They had an unexpended balance of $60,828 as of Aug. 31, 1958. The Observer put the question to Turman. “Why, that balance was purposely and painfully built up by us to take care _of the squeeze we were already in and we knew was going to get worse in the second year of the biennium,” Turman said. “That money was for bread and beans. Let me explain. They budgeted us for both years on the basis of a population of 850 boys at Gatesville. Well, we passed that number early in the first fiscal year and knew it was going to get much rougher in the following year when we also were budgeted on the basis of 1350 boys. We began pruning the staff immediately, and economizing in every item. And I mean every item, except food and medical care. And I’ll say we have some pretty careful planning even on food. We have 1,157 boys now and we’re just halfway through the second year. We have tightened our belts in every way. We don’t have the money for adequate educational and vocational training for these boys, and we’ve cut repair work and general maintenance and clothing. We cut the clothing severely and try t2 * A Crosby County grand jury indicted the sheriff, J. T. Her rington, who confessed pocketing “fine money and accepting pay from the county for boarding pris oners when they were not actu ally in jail. Ernest Joiner, in the Rails Banner, said the people :ought to take their share of the blame”They wanted their sons carted home from their drunken orgies instead of being tossed in the tank and fined as the drunks they were and still are,” sought other “special favors,” and only 1800 of them voted; “for my money the rest of them can go to hell.” Harrington can’t make real restitution, Joiner said, to Mexi can and Negro minorities he mishandled. “These people have been exploited in the worst possible way. Their money has been stolen by an official of this county …. They are prey for all unscrupulous wearers of guns.” get it all from the patients and let the boys wear their own clothing …. So, you see, we squeezed the first year because we knew it was going to get worse the second year and we wanted money for food in 1959. Bread and beans come first.” Asked to comment on the Youth director’s statement,. McGee said, “Dr. Turman is exactly right. I did not intend you to understand I meant those unobligated balances were a device for attaining fire prevention. The point I was trying to make was if they were able to accumulate $60,000, I assume they had everything they needed for fire prevention because the money did accumulate. You see? But of course, these unobligated balances are not the sole answer. There is a paragraph in the last appropriation bill making it clear that irrespective of any budgetary requirements, officials of the state institutions are authorized to take whatever measures they deem necessary to’maintain fire prevention programs,” McGee said. The paragraph referred to by McGee reads: “From any amounts appropriated to it and to the respective institutions under its jurisdiction, the Board for the Texas State Hospitals and S p e c i al Schools is authorized to employ, regardless of the limitations imArticle, sufficient personnel to provide and to maintain fire prevention programs, drills, a n d evacuation plans for the safety of inmates, patients, and employees.” for Texas Hospitals and Special Schools may employ personnel in hospitals and institutions only within the position titles shown and at an annual salary rate not to exceed those specified below ..” McGee said, “I’ll grant that the provision doesn’t provide money for fire prevention. The superintendent would have to take the money budgeted for something else, but it does give him the choice in order of priority,” McGee said. L.G. * Kappa Sigs, whose fraternity house is at the head of a mall leading from the fountain in front of the University of Texas, clam bered atop their house dressed up like Mexicans, brandished guns, and set off a few mock blasts in response to ROTC-ignited fake blasts under. cannon on the cam pus. After a few formal speeches, as are customary at March 2nd independence day celebrations, the WAAAIWWWWWWWWWWWWVV The Way of Life Kappa Sigma warriors “surrendered” to the cannonading ROTC Texians. * The Dallas Times-Herald ran a column by Weldon Owens headed: “Reading Can Be Educational.’ ” T h e first paragraph: “You take the average fellow doesn’t realize what he’s missing by not reading all the ads. Besides bargains.” The last pararaph: “So don’t pass up the printed word. There may be a prize in every paragraph.” An all-male El Paso jury ac qUitted William Pettit, 33, an itinerant flagpole sitter, of charges he raped a 14-year-old girl atop a 65-foot flagpole after testimony the first overture by telephone upon hearing Pettit’s radio broad THE TEXAS OBSERVES Page 6 March 7, 1959 \(An English professor of our acquaintance has passed along to us, as an instance of the standards for graduation from Dallas high schools, this first-year college essay by one of his students. “If you wish to print it under some such heading as “Dallas Culture, 1959,’ go ahead,” the professor wrote; “Just don’t say what school it came from, or we will have a bill in the legislature against exposing the incredible, complacent ignorance of our high school graduates.” We suspect that legislators nevertheless may wish to apply this high school graduate’s production in evidence on the question of Senator Fly’s proposed educational standards cornmission, which the Observer favors, even if Senator Fly did init RACEING One night last summer my friend Harry and I were riding around Dallas and places outside of Dallas. We had not been rideing to long when Harry wonted to find Raymon. I thought that this was a good idea so I started looking for Raymon. I had been feeling good all that day and night. Harry and I had meet at about six o’clock that night and we went to a show. The show, which was no good, was over at about ten oclock so we had started rideing. The first place that I look forRaymon at was the pig stand. I do not like the pig stand to much but every body that I know stays their so I go around the place. This time I did not find Raymon. I like Raymon quite a lot and him and I or the best of friends. I hayed stayed over at his house a lot at night. The only bad part about him, the part that I dont like, is that he drink’s a lot. I then drove over to the Band B. He was not their. I still felt like finding him so I drove around town looking for him. It was on Fitzhugh that I first saw Raymon. I was in my fifty one Ford. Raymon was in his fifty’ four Ford thus his car can go a little bit faster than my car but I believe that my car can take a told him she was 19 years old; over the telephone; brought the pole “several times.” …. Across the Rio Grande from El Paso in Juarez, eleven male members of a teenage gang dubbed “The Outlaws,” under investigation for armed robbery by police, claimed their expenses in a $100-amonth apartment were paid by their girl friends, who worked as barmaids and carhops in El Paso. “Us girls supported the boys,” said a 19-year-old female gang member, one of four girls held along with eleven boys …. In Wichita Falls, a grand jury began inves turn a lot faster than his. When I saw Raymon I felt like stoping him and I felt like he would stop tscence he would know that it was me. As I drove up to Raymon were not going fast but at a slow speed however Raymon started to speed. This at ounce for some reasion mad Harry mad at Raymon. I was not mad at all but started after him. He was about three blocks ahead of me and I thought that I would never get him if he went on without turning for it was at a turn that I could get get closer to him. I knew that he would turn sometime to stay off of the main streets. For I know from experence that you can race all night in Dallas without being stoped by the cops as lond as you stay on the iminportant ‘streets and stay of the main streets. I have been stoped though on some small streets but not as offten as when I hit a main street. I was not the lest bit mad at Raymon but I was geting mad. I wonted him to stop so that I could ask him to ride with Harry and me but I could never catch him. He must have been driveing fast because I was doing sixty eight down Barry. At this time I took a turn at about fifty miles an hour and allmost turned my car over. This is what made me mad and I was very mad. I thought about how my cousin had turned his father’s car over about a week befor and I know that I could not buy a new car if I tore this one up. I was so mad that if I caught Raymon now I was going to beet him up. At this time I was comming to a stop sign and begain to slow down to stop. Raymon had not stoped for the sign so Harry told me not to stop therefore I went on through the stop sign at sixty miles an hour. Another car Which I did not see untill it was to late to stop was comming from my left. So I left the street went into this man’s frount yard and stoped their. I realy told Raymon off when I meet him later that night at the pig stand and we al most had a fight with each outher. But I am still raceing now and then. tigating a story, confirmed by lie detector tests, that a 17-year-old unwed mother told of torrid love trysts with nine policement, eight of whom are married. The girl’s mother broke the case when she told Police Chief C. C. Daniel that she suspected one of two police officers was the father of her daughter’s child. The girl told authorities she had been dating policemen after work at a drive-in restaurant since she was 15. * The late Hugh Roy Cullen, who said he gave away 93 per cent of his income after caring for his family, left $9.3 million, of which $4.4 million was taxable under the state inheritance tax law, probating revealed. Sheriffs, Kappa Sigs, Ads; Flagpole for Two RELIABLE REAL ESTATE SERVICE Arthur Hajecate METROPOLITAN REALTY CO. 4340 Telephone Road HOUSTON, TEXAS