ustxtxb_obs_1959_11_06_50_00008-00000_000.pdf

Senator Fly’s Honorarium Eisenhower Demos Explain the Case AUSTIN Sen. William Fly, Victoria, was paid $300 on an item listed as “Expenses to Houston cony.” May 27 of this year by the Texas Society of Association Executives. Asked if this could better be described as an honorarium than as expenses; Sen. Fly told the Observer from Victoria: “I just don’t know. I’ve forgotten just what that situation was. I know I flew over there.” The legislature was in session at that time. Fly said he addressed the society on “the legislative problems.” Does he ordinarily accept hon orariums for speeches, as some national political figures are understood to do? “It just depends,” he replied. “It depends … I talked to the Corpus Christi Rotary Club Friday, a woman’s club Thursday, another woman’s club Wednesday. Not on things like that.” But an association might be different? “Maybe so,” he replied. Fly has been mentioned as a possibility for lieutenant gover6 nor. “It depends on what Brother Ben does,” Fly said. Lt. Gov. Ben Ramsey, now serving his fifth term in the post, may run for a sixth term if the speculation of his friends is well informed. If Ramsey does not seek re-election, will Fly run for the office? “I ‘imagine,” Fly replied. Jim Taylor, executive director of the Texas Motor Transportation Assn., was president of T.S. A.E. at the time of the Houston convention. Asked about the .sum paid to Fly, he replied, “No, I don’t remember anything about it.” Advised the sum was $300 and asked what it was for, he replied, “probably for his expenses to fly down there, hotel, and probably an honorarium for coming down MINEOLA Mineola Monitor Publisher Neale Harle, in a two-page editorial layout based on interviews with Mineola railroad workers, railroad workers’ lobbyist Bob Bryant in Austin, an d the railroad brotherhoods’ Cleveland offices, condemns the nationwide American Railr o ad s’ ads against “f e at h e r bedding” misleading advertising” that “should be controlled.” He called the statement in the ads that featherbedding by railroad workers costs half a billion dollars a year “the big lie.” “This figure is completely unverified and unsubstantiated by figures of any sort,” he said. “It is simply a figure which has been picked out of the air and spread across the nation. Challenged to enumerate and list specifically how this figure was reached, the railroads have refused.” Bryant had his own say in the Texas Railroad Brotherhoods’ news bulletin for Oct. 30. “We would not be able to guess how much money the railroads are spending on these ads,” he wrote, “but we do believe the propaganda cost would more than cover the alleged deficit on all the passenger trains which have been discontinued in Texas during the past five years. “If the railroads really care about the general public, why don’t they restore some of this needed passenger service instead of throwing money away on this silly propaganda campaign? … “The public is fed up with the arrogant attitude of the railroads,” THE TEXAS OBSERVER Page 8 Nov. 6, 1959 there, just like anybody else.” George Clarke of the Texas Dairy Products Institute is now president of the Trade Association Executives’ Association. He recalled that Fly’s address concerned “the tax structure.” The convention was held May 29-30 at the Rice Hotel. “No action is takenthere is merely just an informal group,” he said. The association has roughly 150 members, he said. Clarke said that expenses and honorariums are paid to speakers at the conventions of his association, the Dairy Products Institute, and added that this is general praclice among trade associations. AT THE JULY 14, 1959, meeting of T.S.A.E., John G. Flowers, executive director of the Texas Society of Architects, proposed that T.S.A,E. hold a fall meeting . with “politics” as its theme. The proposal carried, the Observer is advised. Asked about the forthcoming meeting, Clarke said, “It’s possible that we will have a meeting r -not in any wise other than to discuss problems in conventions with hotel management people.” Political conventions? he was asked. “No, a discussion of professional relationships with hotels, programming and that sort of thing,” he replied. This meeting may come off some time in January, he said. Then they were not having a fall meeting on politics? he was asked. “To my knowledge we are not,” he replied. “It’s possible we might have a discussion with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about a program that has been presented to usit’s not any party line, not for parties, personalities, or candidates,” he said. Bryant continued, “and we be-, lieve the public will soon decide that our United States railroads should be nationalized like the Canadian National.” THE PURPOSE behind the ads, Harle wrote, was to prejudice negotiators and the public with respect to railroad labor negotiations beginning this month. The railroads want a 15-cents-an-hour wage reduction and elimination of firemen. “They want to destroy rules of craft work and make possible any and all employees being assigned to do any and all tasks which arise,” Harle said. In defense of the fireinen, Harle said he is in effect a co-pilot for the engineer. “The engineer can see only one side and ahead. There are blind spots on the other side which he cannot see.” The engineer might be stricken ill and need a sudden replacement. The question, then, is whether the “featherbedding” label ought not to be “hospital-bedding,” Harle wrote. He ‘ said a fireman does not stoke furnaces any more, but he contributes to the safe running of the train; maintains the efficiency of the power plant, acts as a relief engineer, and keeps a constant watch on one side of the train. He said one fireman, W. N. Ayers of Mineola, saved a life in the Dallas yard by seeing a yard clerk on the track and tooting the whistle to get him off. \(The clerk could not hear the train because of a switch engine coming Another Mineola fireman, Jerry McDaniel, avoided a collision with the caboose of -another freight train by alerting the engineer to slam the automatic brake valve. “Did these firemen earn their When might this be? December or January, he replied. The meeting will be open to the press as usual, he said. W. PRICE, executive vice. president of the Texas Restaurant Assn., is vice president of the executives’ association, and R. B. Perry, executive vice president of the Texas Motel Assn., is secretary-treasurer. Other directors are G. C. Morris, Automobile Wholesalers of Texas; Taylor; John Terrell, Texas Assn. of Home Builders; Homer Lbonard, Texas Brewers Institute; Plasco Moore, Texas Retail Furniture Assn., and Flowers. All the officers and directors are Austin men except Perry, of San Antonio, and Moore, of Dallas. Many members of the association lobby for the interests. of their associations before the legislature. Among the members are such well known lobbyists as Ed C. Burris, Texas Manufacturers’ Assn.; Carl Hardin, Texas Private Truck Owners’ Assn.; J. Manley Head, Texas Motor Bus Assn., and Taylor and Leonard. Gen. Preston Weatherred, author of many conservative political analyses distributed by mail from Dallas, is a member of T.S.A.E. as counsel for the Southwest Ice Manufacturers’ Assn. The membership also includes executives of relatively non-political trade associations. Another member is Alvin A. Burger, executive secretary of the Texas Research League, a private research organization to which the Texas State Tax Study Commission, a legislative committee of which Fly was chairman, delegated the task of tax research which resulted in the league’s state and local tax reports. pay?” Harle asked. “What will dent rate if the look-out is maintained on only one side of the train is horrible to contemplate.” DEFENDING railroad workers, he said they work up to eleven hours with no overtime pay and, under the 1911 16-hour law, can be called to work with as little as three hours off duty in awayfrom-home terminals if, during any 24-hour period, they have had as much as eight hours and five minutes off duty \(whether the off-duty time was consecutive time as long as this rule is observed, Harle said. “Railroad workers get no extra pay for work performed on Sundays or holidays, nor is there any night differential pay. They have no expense account for ‘lodging or meals when away from hoine. They are subject to be called to work at any time, day or night, Sundays or holidays,” Harle said. Further, with total railroad employment decreased from 1,800,000 to 800,000 the last ten years, more freight is being handled per ton mile than ever before, and federal statistics show “railroad employees have the highest productivity record of any group of industrial employees in the entire nation.” Railroad presidents, Harle said, are paid between $75,000 and $140,000 a year. Average pay for train and engine service workers is $2.38 an hour. Were the railroads to have their way this month, Harle said, “It would only mean a return to the 1880 Robber Baron days of bigger profits, fatter salaries to railroad officials, and exploitation of a skilled segment of the American labor force,” Stuart Long, Austin newspa perman, has resigned as chairman. of the Austin chapter, Texas Social a n d Legislative Council, with the explanation that he believes the job was incompatible with his membership on the Travis County steering committee of Johnson for President. Long also announced he will be a candidate for Democratic chairman in Travis County. His reasoning in backing Johnson for President is that he prefers that the 1960 delegation to Los Angeles be Johnson-DOT rather than Johnson-FIA. Harry Truman denied saying what Jack Matthews said he said about Adlai Stevenson \(Obs. Oct. 23, widely republished since reporter, that Truman also told Political Intellioence him that “You should support your favorite son.” On this Matthews said, “We’ve had too much of Lyndon. Many of us don’t want ‘him as senator, much less president.” Cullum Greene wrote in the Star-Telegram that the liberals, r wanting “control” of the party, will not go after Johnson’s “scalp.” He added, “Solid control by the moderate-conservative faction may dump Mrs. Randolph out of office.” When Franklin Jones, the Marshall attorney, was introduced at the head table of the Houston dinner honoring Mrs. R. 11,. Randolph, someone in the back of the. hall yelled, “Run against Senator Lyndon . Johnson.” The audience responded with scattered cheers, laughter, and clapping. Discussing Johnson’s emerg ing speech style, William Gardner said in the Houston Post, “He ,seems to have developed a new personality … Gone is the old tension, .the trace of stiffness, the habit of lecturing to his listeners instead of conversing with them. Instead, he laughs easily, jokes readily, speaks convincingly.” ,/ Interested c o n servationists are forming a statewide council to coordinate and strengthen support for the proposed Padre Island National Seashore project. / U. S. Senator Ralph Yarbor ough has urged Texas Democrats to send at least $1 to Paul Butler at the National Democratic Committee, Headquarters in Washington. “Nothing has been paid on our party debt yet, and I think we ought to let them know that somebody in Texas is interested in keeping the Democratic Party alive,” Yarborough said. In Dallas the loyalists lost again on the Democratic executive committee, 74-52. An Observer representative v attended the “non partisan political education course” sponsored by the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce and reports these interesting notes: Wallace S a v a g e, ex-Dallas mayor, Dallas county Democratic chairman in 1949-51 and State Democratic chairman in 1952-1954, said, “During the time I was chairman, I never sent anything to the national party,” and got a big hand. Allen Wight, conservative Democratic precinct leader, lectured on how to do precinct work and said people will vote as visitors whom they like suggest. “In Dallas County, I can’t see any difference between Democrats and Republicans,” he said. Pro-Eisenhower county Democratic chairMan Ed Drake, asked why conservatives should stay in the Democratic Party when nationally their votes count for nothing, said that if they did not, it would be “goodbye to those right to work laws” and would help other liberal states, “like Michigan,” “so at this time and for the immediate future, many Conservatives think it is necessary not to forsake the Democratic Party in Texas.” \(Drake said his election campaign cost between Manuel DeBusk, conservative Democrat, said, “If the Republican a n d Democratic Parties merge … if we divide ourselves two ways … the liberals will win.” Maurice I. Carlson, chairman of the Dallas County Republican executive committee, advocated a conservative GOP-Democratic coalition against the Democratic candidate “if it is ever necessary to unite against a liberal.” He said we have Bruce Alger on the Ways and Means Committee … These two people are keeping us from being taxed to death.” During the seven-week session, critical remarks were made about Sam Rayburn, Harry Truman, Franklin Roosevelt, and Mrs. R. D. Randolph, but not, says the Observer’s observer, about Lyndon Johnson. The only exception: