ustxtxb_obs_1959_05_02_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

CITY-LIMITING HJR 41 UP FOR TEST Nudists Cause Some Laughs, Melodrama AUSTIN A riotous four-hour hearing on outlawing nudism in Texas afforded Texas representatives an indoctrination in the clothesless life, but they had to wade through high comedy, smutty literature, and grim melodrama before they torpedoed the antinudist b i 11 already passed by the Senate. It all began when a nudist camp was discovered in North Texas, between Telephone and Ivanhoe, by a low-flying plane. \(Before the day was out, five or six sponsoring representative, James Turman of Gober, read protests from Telephone Baptist Church against “the immoral practice of nudism” as “a mockery of common decency” and from an elected official against “our recent disgrace in Fannin County?’ The latter official also wrote, “Who knows but what we have something even worse behind those closed and locked gates communist.” A national nudist leader \(who said “the accepted state is a state that “the figleaf only drew attention to what you are supposed to be hiding,” whereupon Rep. W. A. Stroman of San Angelo cried out: “Hiding, are you? You yourself admit you ought to hide it!” Rep. Joe Ed Winfree, Houston: “Do you mean you go around without even BVD’s and the women without even brassieres?” “That’s right” said the director of the discovered camp \(“Cedar Valwords you men go around just stark nekkid?” demanded Winfree. “The way I was born,” said the nudist. “And the women too?” “That’s right.” “That’s all.” The Cedar Valley nudists’ neighbor, a Mrs. Oliver, said she had no objection: “I want you to understand that we are not busybodies in other people’s affairs and we thank them not to be in ours,” she said. Asked if she was a member of the nudist camp, she cried out in a shocked voice: “No! I’m a Methodist!” The argument was not going well for the prohibitors. “Basically you’re just minding your own business, aren’t you?” asked Rep. Jerry Butler, Kenedy. “And I imagine you wish other people would do the same.” “I think they should be left alone,” said Rep. Don Gladden, Fort Worth. “Why should the Lord create a thing which is obscene?” asked the nudists’ national legal counsel. Then the proponents closed with an unfrocked cop from New Orleans, Herbert Badeaux, who called the nudist group “the most pagan immoral godless degenerate organization that you could ever find.” Hostile members of the committee caught him in contradictions, questioned his source of income, snapped at him for bringing in communism, but did not fail to look over his exhibits of letters \(“too immoral to be zines for nudists \(genitals not Some legislators not members of the committee took an acute interest in the proceedings at this point. The committee refused to send the bill to a favorable subcommittee, 11-9, and then. sent it off to Attorney General Will Wilson for a constitutionality test which may take longer than there are days left in the session. At this point AUSTIN The Senate committee on constitutional amend ments approved and sent to the Senate floor controversial H.J.R. 41 setting a ceiling on the legislative representation of large metropolitan areas. The vote was nine to five. The measure, expected to face a close test in the Senate, allows cities up to 900,000 population to have nine representatives in the House with one additional for each 400,000 population. The present law permits seven seats up to 700,000 with one additional for each 100,000. The bill’s sponsor in the House, Rep. Will Ehrle, Childress, appeared before the Senate committee in behalf of the amendment. He was interrupted repeatedly by hostile questions from Sens. George Parkhouse of Dallas, Jimmy Phillips of Angleton, and Jep Fuller of Port Arthur. Sen. Bob Baker of Houston marshalled an array of authorities that included the Declaration of Independence, Jeff er .son, Franklin, Adams, Wilson, Lincoln, Aristotle, Theodore Roosevelt, Walt Whitman, Sam Houston, the Texas constitutions of 1845, 1866 and 1875, Jim Hogg, Grover Cleveland, and Franklin Roosevelt, in that order. ‘Money, Not People?’ Phillips asked Ehrle, “You want representation on money and not on people, is that it? On evaluation and not population?” Ehrle said he did not, but that “consideration should be given to the area factor.” He said if something wasn’t done, “I’m going to wind up with 18 or 20 counties to represent. In my district, you couldn’t contact everybody from any single radio station.” “Haven’t you got post offices out there?” asked Phillips. Ehrle replied that representatives didn’t get as much money for contingent expenses as senators. Parkhouse banged on the table and gruffed, “Is it fair, is it” Sen. Wardlow Lane of Center laughed, “Don’t panic, Parkhouse.” Parkhouse said that the fact a man moves from the country to the city should not “deprive him of his right to have representation.” AUSTIN Rep. Bill Kilgarlin, Houston, asked the House to require a committee report on his 50-cent minimum wage bill for Texas workers and was denied, 102-34. Rep. Wesley Roberts, Lamesa, asked if the bill “will affect cotton pickers.” Kilgarlin said he would exempt farm workers as requested. Rep. Howard Green, Fort Worth, opposed “fooling with stuff like that” \(the KilgarRep. J o e Chapman, Sulphur Springs, said if they were “up here to protect and promote sexual perversion” he was sorry to be a member, and Rep. Jim Bates, Edinburg, said if Chapman was sorry to be a member he could resign, and Bates would “show him how to do it? . The nudists had won their argument without yielding to the whispers around the House chamber that they should “give a demonstration,” ought to offer “expert witnesses,” or ought to be “investigated.” They were serious throughout and never varied from polite insistence on what they regarded as their rights. R. D. Majority Decisions Speaking against the plan, Baker said, “envision … every citizen of this state assembled within the chamber of our House of Representatives. Who among us would then say that the laws they would enact should not be by a majority vote … Would 400,000 assembled in one part of the room take the position they were entitled to eight votes while 400,000 in another part of the room were entitled to only one vote?” Bill Richards, chairman of the legislative sub-committee of the AUSTIN Gov. Daniel said bitterly in San Antonio that “giant corporations …. are having more to do with the thinking of Texas legislators than the people of the state” and made it clear he’ll call a special session by saying, “When there is a special session, you can look for another abandoned property bill strongly supported by me.” Speaker Carr said it looks like a special session to him. clear his office has “no staff” for finding abandoned accounts in banks and other companies and said he may not have “the visitorial power” to seatch for such plan for a state tax on beer sold on military posts as unconstitutional. The House passed, 74-70, H.B. 727, the denuded tax bill. When it arrived in the Senate, Sen. Wm. Moore, Bryan, suggested they send it back where it came from. Instead, the ‘senators scheduled five days of tax hearings next week preparatoryas they freely saidto the special session. The Governor’s franchise tax, passed by the House for May 1st approval, was not even set for hearing by the Senate until May 7. H. B. 727 floor leader Rep. Doc Blanchard, Lubbock, said “Bless us, I don’t know what we’ve got” Weatherford, charged the Kilgarlin motion was “really just … to get a record for the CIO.” Roy Harrington, Port Arthur, wondered why people are opposed to 50 cents an hour for Texas workers even though the federal standard for Mexican farm workers requires 50 cents an hour. Kilgarlin, closing, said workers in department stores, laundries, and other service type jobs are paid less than 50 cents now and that such low wages cause juvenile delinquency and communism. Those voting with Kilgarlin for the report on a 50-cent minimum wage included all the Houston men except Cole and also Cannon, Gladden, G1 a s s, Harrington, nard, Kilpatrick, Korioth, Lary, Laurel, LaValle, McCoppin, Mullen, Oliver, Pipkin, Rosas, Smith Wheeler, Winston, Yezak, and Zbranek. \(Rep. La V alle voted aye throughout on H. B. 32, the bank bill, the House Journal reflects, contradicting an earlier record vote sheet the Observer relied Houston Chamber of Commerce, submitted to the senators a reso lution opposing the bill unani mously adopted by the board of directors he said represents 4,200 businesses. Senator Bill Fly had one question for Richards: “You’re not as big a liberal as when you were in the House of Representatives, are you?” Woodrow Seales, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Ex ecutive Committee, app eared briefly to state, “If we are to have representative government in name, I just want to say the people of Harris County believe we should have it in fact.” as the House passed it. Rep. Joe Cannon, Mexia, said “let’s not send a blank check t o t h e Senate.” Rep. Ronald Bridges, Corpus, said “we are saying we can’t do our job.” Rep. Richard C o r y, Victoria, said the bill Blanchard should be sent to the Senate to “find out what they want”: the House had done what it could, he said. Rep. Don Kennard, Fort Korth, said the bill is “nothing but an empty freightcar on a downhill track” and passing it is “playing a game of irresponsibility.” “I don’t think I’m abdicating my rights to the Senate,” Blanchard rejoined. “The House has refused to act. We’ve tilted. We’ve set plumb down.” Gov. Daniel signed bills making Tarleton State a four-year college and authorizing a medical school in San Antonio. The Senate passed measures requiring party registration for party conventions; establiShing gubernatorial succession in event of atomic attack; curbing advertising of “wholesale” prices; and authorizing a study of property taxes; and the Senate killed, by refusing t o debate, measures abolishing certain county school superintendents’ jobs and selling off a tract of valuable state land in. Austin. Senate committees approved $80 a month pensions for Texas Rangers and their widows and an equal rights for women inexpedient thing of raising interest rates, they are just going to permit a whole world of charges that are not considered to be interest by the courts and therefore forbidden by the constitution service charges, brokerage rates and such. The whole point is we should have passed a regulatory bill and then we could in the same session pass this constitutional amendment. But, as it is, we’ve opened the door with the amendment and all the sponsors of the bill have is some ‘assurance’ Criss Cole’s regulatory bill will be taken up soon. Perhaps my fears are unfounded, I hope so, but I do not think so. I can just see the big. thick bills, with their weasel words, coming into this House with all that pressure of some special interest lobby behind them. It’s a shame.” Hughes: “The legislative council held hearings all over the state for two years on this question. This bill is a product of their work. It is a good bill, a necessary bill if we are to do anything about loan Voting for the resolution were Sens. Hardeman, Kazen, Wood of Tyler, Lane of Center, Moffett of Chillicothe, Moore of Bryan, Owen of El Paso, Krueger of El Campo, and Martin of Hillsboro. Voting no were Sens. Herring of Austin, Fly of Victoria, Parkhouse, Fuller, and Phillips. Three others are on record against the bill, Baker, Gonzalez, and Willis of Fort Worth. Eleven votes are needed to block the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional am en d m e n t. Baker says ‘he has “reason to believe” three or four other senators do not like the resolution and thinks he may have the necessary votes. L.G. amendment and subcommitteed bills providing hospital and emer gency medical care for the aged. In the House, Rep. Joe Burkett led revamping of a bill requiring content standards for corn meal; two more years of tax study were voted; state control of Midwestern University was approved; the bill lowering maximum hours for firemen and policemen in towns of more than 10,000 passed, as did a bill creating a commission on welfare and health. Reps. Glusing, de la Garza, Spilman and Connell provided the 4-3 majority in committee for abolition of the federal income tax. A dispute emerged on the Hazlewood bill to require inspectors’ “personal knowledge” of purity of imported milk. The Dairy Products Institute said prices would go up three to five cents a quart. Sponsor Steve Burgess said it will get “better milk into Texas.” “A trade barrier bill … price fixing,” said Rep. Jim Bates. The agriculture committee approved it 9-5. The bill requiring an oath of belief in a Supreme Being by state college personnel seemed to have little chance. University of Texas regents condemned it as “an offensive invasion of privacy certain to be resented by many deeply religious persons” and “a symbol of religious intolerance.” Students told a House committee they were mature enough to make up their own minds about religion. The committee adjourned without taking action. sharks. “Only two states have constitutional prohibitions on interest rates such as Texas has, and those states are known as the loan shark states. This is because the