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UT PROFS OPPOSE LOYALTY AFFIDAVIT Wilson May Change Jobs AUSTIN By a vote of three or four to one, The University of Texas faculty this week joined Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and other schools in supporting repeal of the subversive-disclaimer in the National Defense Education Act. The resolution associates the faculty with the positions of President Eisenhower and Sens. Kennedy, Clark, and Javits, declaring that “the government should not intrude itself into matters of personal belief” when belief is unaccompanied by “either advocacy or action.” The question, the resolution says, is not “whether to be hard or soft on communists but how best to deal with matters of loyalty and subversion.” Acknowledging that “there are some negative public relationk aspects to this around the state,” Dr. Millard Ruud of the law school said, “I hope folks will understand what we’re for and what we aren’t for.” The faculty agreed that they “in no way object to” the oath of allegiance also required under the education act. . serious objection is raised, however,” their resolution stated, “to the portions of the disclaimer affidavit which enquire into a person’s belief. The government’s inquiry into belief by this affidavit is a concern with belief alone, unaccompanied by either advocacy or action. Strong American traditions of long standing declare that the government should not intrude itself into matters of personal belief. History amply demonstrates the dire consequences to liberty which may ensue when government goes beyond the regulation of overt action and tries to regulate simply belief.” A professor of geography, Dr. Donald Brand, opposed the resolution. “The disclaimer affidavit can act as a check on over-zealous youngsters who may be getting in deeper and deeper,” he said. “Ail the affidavit does is to ask a student, before he obtains a subsidy from the government, to give up the thinking of treacherous thoughts.” The act requires every person who receives a payment or loan under the act to sign an affidavit that he “does not believe in and is not a member of and does not support any organization that believes in, or teaches, the overthrow of the United States government by force or violence or unconstitutional methods.” ‘Unconscious Insult’ The faculty’s five-member, committee on academic freedom and responsibility on April 4 approved a resolution saying that the affidavit “runs counter to strong American traditions … that the state should not intrude itself into matters of belief and conscience.” They also argued that the affidavit “singles out the college student and professor as the only recipients of governmental aid, loans, and subsidy whose devotion to this nation is so doubtful that such additional assurance is required.” The academic community feels “some offense over this probably unconscious insult,” the resolution said \(or, as Dr. Ruud remarked, “We thought this The affidavit’s “vagueness and ambiguity” would give no pause to the disloyal but “does cause the scrupulous and conscientious to pause” and “may operate as a deterrent to free inquiry and thought,” the committee agreed. The members of the committee are Clarence E. Ayres, professor of economics; Page Keeton, dean, School of Law; Henry R. Henze, professor of chemistry; DeWitt C. Reddick, director, School of Journalism; and Ruud, professor of law and committee chairman . Sen. Ralph Yarborough supported the committee with a statement on the Senate floor. “Throughout history Texans have been dedicated to the ideal of human libertyfreedom of thought, freedom of expression, freedom of religion,” Yarborough said. Dr. Millard Ruud It . . this dedicated committee voted the University of Texas in position to join with other great American educational institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and others on this issue … id … what the college students and professors resent is the insult implied, and the slur on their character and patriotism implicit, in a system which requires disclaimer affidavits from students and teachers who seek to borrow money from the government, and requires no such affidavit from farmers, businessmen, or others who seek loans … “Are our students suspect because they attend college and seek an education? Are all who seek learning to be distrusted, while all who seek dollars are trusted? Is it more patriotic to accumulate money than it is to seek learning?” Yarborough asked. Arguments Dropped The general faculty at first delayed action on the matter. In some quarters this decision was misunderstood as a decision against action. Ruud explained that there was a realization that “there are some negative public relations aspects to this around the state. We have a problem of communication. I was concerned that the faculty take its stand in a way which best communicated its position.” The resolution adopted begins by stating that the issue is not subversion but how to deal with it and identifies the faculty with President Eisenhower’s position favoring the disclaimer’s repeal and the Kennedy-Clark-Javits bill to accomplish this. Because of “the PR problem,” , Rudd said, the revision omits the argument against singling out faculty and students. “It is an argument that appeals to us, to faculty people and students, but is not effective with people off campus,” Ruud. said. The argument against vagueness and ambiguity was also dropped. “It may be a lawyer’s argument. It is not well understood generally,” Ruud said. Ruud did not reply to Brand’s arguments asa he sought approval of his resolutidn. The showing of hands for it was estimated at between three-to-one and four-toone. OInformed University of Texas circles are now aware that President Logan Wilson of that institution would likely resign to accept a position as president of the American Council an Education, the association of educational associations, institutions of higher learning, and selected secondary schools. One advised source said the prospect of Wilson’s resignation is “100-to-1.” His decision was expected by this weekend. OAtty. Gen.-Will Wilson ruled that credit unions cannot establish branches because the state law requires that they comply with state banking laws “as may be applicable to the transaction of business.” The banking laws prohibit branch banks. OA total of 18 insurance com panies controlled by W. L. Bridges of Dallas are now laboring under various forms of state custody. An official of the Common Carrier Motor Freight Assn. this week asked the Texas Railroad Cmsn. for a hike in the Texas truck freight rates of about 7.66 percent. The increase is opposed by the Texas Industrial Traffic League, Dallas chamber of commerce, and other businessmen who use trucks for freight. They argue that present Texas rates are higher than interstate rates set, indirectly, by the Interstate Commerce Cmsn. Tommy Thompson, a rate expert at the commission, told the Observer that while “the basic class rate is considerably lower” interstate, special rates are authorized in Texas which are lower than “the basic class rate,” and that therefore one cannot say, yes or no, whether Texas rates are higher. “It comes a question of juggling figures,” he said. J. E. Kerr, vice-president of Austex Foods and spokesman for a group of Austin teachers from various schools, warned the Austin school board that teacher morale is “bad” because of lack of job security. He said he had been approached by 10 or 12 teachers on the proposition of a teachers’ union. The board took the protest under advisement. OU-2 high-altitude jets of the kind that penetrated Russian territory 1,300 miles are based in Del Rio, the Air Force acknowledged. OThe Houston city planning department estimated a population there of 2,480,000 by 1980. Present population is about 1,000,000. Two hundred San Antonio women participated in the tests on the oral contraceptive announced as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week. The drugmade from a Mexican wild yamwas 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy among the San Antonio women over a period of two years, a Southwest Research Foundation representative said. OTexas Independent Produc ers and Royalty Owners’ Assn. has branded the federal government’s mandatory oil imports program as “inadequate” and called for higher quantitative restrictions to cancel “the economic advantage foreign oil now enjoys.” OThe Air Force has decided, in light of the trend away from manned aircraft toward missiles and the use of complex jet equipment, to abandon five private con tract flying schools. Rep. Joe Kilgore, McAllen, whose district loses Moore field near Mission under this ruling, opposes this decision, saying the private schools save money and turn out better pilots. OSan Antonio city atty. Carlos Cadena said a decision by the Fourth Court of Civil Appeals that urban renewal elections should be voted on by all eligible voters, not only by property owners, may invalidate San Antonio’s urban renewal program. He suggested either a new election or legislative validation of the invalid urban renewal elections. ONegroes sued in federal court for use of a Galveston County park at League City. IN.A.A.P1A The Week in Texas OStudents tried to get service for Negroes without success at Greyhound bus station in Austin. Two Negro students were guests for a meal at the Kirby Hall Methodist dorm for girls at the University of Texas without incident. A dozen picketers demonstrated around downtown Houston stores last Saturday afternoon, urging no shopping until Negroes are served. The Houston interracial committee is reported bitterly split on the sit-ins. Members of an interracial committee were announced in San Antonio, but Joske’s decision to close all its restaurants after a white man slapped a Negro minister who stood in his way before HOUSTON Rep. Bob Eckhardt, Houston, has announced his intention of calling a summer conference of legislators from industrialized areas, management, labor, and government officials on industrial safety in Texas. Such a conference would be expected to consider an industrial safety code and possible legislation to implement it. Rep. Charles Hughes, Sherman, has sponsored such legislation since 1955. Eckhardt, re-elected Saturday, the preceding Thursday called 15 state and local officials into an industrial safety discussion group here. His opponent, Tom Norman, said this was a political maneuver; Sen. Bob Baker of Houston, who was not invited to the meeting, remarked, “If there is a need for an industrial safety law in Texas, it has existed for a long time.” Background for the meeting was the death of two workmen and injury of ten others in an industrial explosion near Houston in April and the explosion and fire aboard SS Amoco Virginia in the Houston ship channel last October, causing eight deaths. Eckhardt suggested a state board of experts on health, fire control, and other aspects of industrial safety to provide technical information to industry. “Is there a need for a neutral agency responsible to the peopleto investigate accidents?” he asked. R. B. Latting of Austin, state industrial safety supervisor, said such experts would have to be found in industry. Ed Liles, state industrial safety director, opposed a mandatory state program as the wrong approach, saying, “. . . industry itself should take the lead in promoting safety.” Harold Cunningham, chairman of the Houston ship channel disaster aid society, said industry spends more now on safety than the state can force it to spend. Les Moreland, executive director of the Texas Industrial Accident Board, declared, “There are some 400 to 500 persons killed each year in industrial accidents in Texasand we’re not doing much about it.” The State Highway Dept. “thinks nothing” of spending $250,000 to take care of the entrance to one of them did not seem likely to be reversed soon. A civil liberties case is being considered with respect to the fining of Rev. Ashton Jones $200 on a conviction for vagrancy after he preached equality for Negroes at Wiley Campus in Marshall and was bodily carried to jail. At last report, Rev. Jones was still in jail; it would take him 86 days to work out his, fine. By 4-2 vote the Houston school board voted to hold its desegregation election June 4. Two board members seemed to intend to indicate that the board majority favors a program for desegregation by areas rather than grades, with those areas which least oppose desegregation desegregated first. The board has asked for a 30-day delay of the June 1st court deadline for presenting its program to desegregate. The Houston Assn. for Better Schools urged a vote for desegregation. ORepresentatives of the Na tional Assn. for the Advancement of colored People, meeting in Atlanta, agreed to press for desegregation of public beaches from Cape May, N.J. to Brownsville, Texas. a traffic hazard, but the state board “has only $285,000 a year to administer the total workmen’s compensation program,” Moreland said. “The need for action is pretty generally recognized and is not a controversial issue at this time,” Eckhardt said. The Houston Post commended Eckhardt for “seriously tackling the problem of industrial safety legislation” as thoroughly as he approached the problem of public rights to the Gulf beaches. The Houston Press, quoting Eckhardt’s blaming of “certain elements within industry” for the defeat of Rep. Hughes’s bills in the past, editorialized: “Let us hope that the legislature will not heed the selfish cries of certain industrial lobbyists when the next safety measure comes up for a vote. We must have an industrial safety, code.” Subscribe the Observer For Yourself: Name Address Address For a Friend: Name