ustxtxb_obs_1962_01_19_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

DON’T VOTE GOP deice to Conservatives G-ectct +4, 4., stop with us! EL CORTEZ MOTEL *Attractive rooms & family units *Air-conditioned *Vented heat *Free room TV *Swimming Pool *3 patios *Coffee shop on the premises *Credit cards honored 3113 San Bernardo Ave. Laredo Texas c flitei! Write for literature and new TRAVEL GUIDE listing fine motels from coast to coast, inspected and approved by Congress of Motor Hotels. Mo t Legislative Session Reaches Halfway DALLAS Warnings continue to go out to Texas conservatives advising them to combat, in their own political interests, the development of a two-party system in the state. The latest plea comes from Preston A. Weatherred, the leading business lobbyist in Texas and a ranking conservative Democrat, who has sent a private memorandum to state conservatives and Republicans. “This is an appeal,” Weatherred candidly writes, “for Republican leaders to refrain from activities on levels of state offices, especially those for the state legislature that will drain off the votes needed for election of conservative candidates in the Democratic primaries.” From a post-war high of a twothirds working majority in the legislature, there ‘has been a “gradual slippage of conservative strength.” This trend, he notes, has continued from election to election at the rate of about six House members gained for the liberals and one Senate member “until the last legislature when organizational control of the House was taken over by the liberals.” Conservatives, W e at h e r r e d writes,’ “‘have dissipated their strength in too much of ‘a scattergun approach to elections. There has ‘been a lack of co-ordination on our part while our opposition has maintained its ‘sights fixed on effective use ‘of what is really a minority ‘strength.” Liberals Will Win The 1962 elections, with so many hotly-contested races in offing and with the entire state Senate up for re-election, “present exceptional need for co-ordinated conservative effort.” He then reiterates the “serious threat to success of conservative efforts in the Democratic primaries” of the Republican effort, which “will drain from the Democratic primaries conservative votes that are needed for conservative success, resulting in the nomination of liberal candidates. Almost if not quite invariably such liberal candidates will win in the November election.” . The present margin in the legislature, he warns, is so small that a ‘dozen votes changed will ‘determine whether or not the legislature is to ‘be liberal or conservative. One vote, cast by the ‘House Speaker, defeated the sales tax in the regular session. “Similar situations could arise, for example, on a measure to repeal the Texas Right-to-Work law and other basic conservative measures.” His plea for co-operation with Republican’s, he ‘argues, is wellfounded. No Republican has ever carried a Texas election with Republican votes ‘alone; conservative Democrats helped give majorities to Eisenhower, Alger, and Tower. “This is true for the very simple reason that there are not enough Republican votes to carry either a state or any district election. “The time will surely come again,” Weatherred says, “when votes of conservative Texas Democrats will be needed by Republicans. A course followed by Texas Republican leadership that will alienate this reserve of conservative votes would be unfortunate for the conservative cause generally and Republican power specifically.” ‘Altogether False Texas, Weatherred continues, is “a conservative and well-governed state.” The argument that the development of a two-party state ‘is a good thing ‘is “an altogether false ‘premise.” The labels “Republican” and “Democrat” are no longer any indication of political philosophy. The only true division “lies within the labels of Conservative and Liberal as they are commonly applied in today’s political parlance. From this point of view Texas is already basically a two-party state . . . The division between liberal and conservative, in fact, is often so bitter that liberals will refuse to vote for a ‘conservative despite their .vaunted devotion to party loyalty.” Before being “taken in” by the argument for two-party government, conservatives should compare Texas with two-party Democrat and Republican states. “Texas government is far more sound, solvent, and conservative” than such two-party states as New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, and California. “Given one or two sessions of a liberal-dominated legislature and conservative measures and institutions that now go to make up a sound conservative state government will disappear. Not in ‘the foreseeable future, if ever, will be restored the sound, solvent, and sensible labor, tax, and fiscal policies now written into Texas law. “Hence, this appeal that conservatives vote in the Democratic primaries. When the general election comes in November every voter will have a free choice uaranteed to him by ‘the Constitution of his country and his ‘state.” Confirmed Republicans “can refrain from interference with nomination of conservative candidates for state offices in ‘the Democratic flunce for a showdown at the general election for 1962 or ‘succeeding election years.” And Weatherred concludes: “This appeal ‘basically is that conservative voters accept the fact of political life that for state offices the hope for maintenance of conservative state government can be realized only ‘through the nomination of conservative candidates through the Democrat ic primaries. “If Republican leadership is to be supported on great national issues in the November general election by conservative Democratic voters, as they have been on numerous occasions in past elections, then it is but fair that Republican leadership reciprocate through withholding support of activities inimical to election of conservative candidates in the state Democratic primaries.” ‘Danger Signal’ In his column this week, Dallas News political editor Allen Duckworth said much the same thing. “Rivalry for Texas Republican nomintions,” he wrote, ‘”poses a threat to Democratic conservatism” and “liberal’s ‘stand to benefit, ‘both for nomination’s and in their fight for control of the state Democratic convention.” Interest in the GOP primaries this May, which will be held on the same day as the Democratic primaries, will be higher than in any previous Republican primary, Duckworth said. Conservative Democrats will be sorely tempted to participate in the GOP ‘primaries. Dallas Republican Bruce Alger has a GOP opponent, Paul Eix. ‘Alger has been able, in past years, to count on a big bloc of conservative Democratic votes to put him over in the general election.” But this year he may have to appeal to those conservatives to vote in the GOP primary to protect his nomination. “Such a situation would draw off conservatives from the Democratic primaries” in Dallas and help liberals like Rev. Baxton Bryant, seeking Democratic nomination against Alger. Such a situation would also, Duckworth noted, impair conservative control of the county Democratic convention because a conservative who votes in the GOP primaries can’t participate in ‘a Democratic ‘convention. Other Republican nominations are being contested: congressmanat-large, lieutenant governor, and congressional places in western districts like Midland, El Paso, and Odessa. “It is ‘a healthy sign, these serious rivalries for Republican nominations,” which point to ‘the ‘building of ‘a two-party system, but, Duckworth concludes, “it also is a danger signal for conservatives who elect to remain in the Democratic Party.” W.M. AUSTIN With the third special session just past the ‘halfway point and as this issue goes to press: The House has passed Rep. Charles Hughes’ escheat bill \(Obs., been reported by committee to the Senate floor. A loan shark regulatory bill has been approved by the House and, after hearings, is now in Senate committee. Both House and Senate have passed and sent to Gov. Daniel a version of the farm-to-market finance measure he recommended. The House bill on farm-to-market roads, restoring $15 million to the construction program for ’63, was the same one passed in the Senate last week. The vote to table a complete substitute was 118-32 against, and final passage wa’s by voice vote. The drama of the halfway week was amply supplied by Sen. Hubert Hudson of Brownsville, who charged that his life had been threatened because of his opposition to the escheat bill now in the hands of the Senate. Hudson said a telephone call wa’s made to the secretary of brother-in-law, Austin lawyer Dan Moody Jr., last week. Another call was shortly made to his motherin-law, Mrs. Dan Moody Sr. Hudson said the caller warned: “Tell Hudson to lay off Ed Clark or he will ibe found floating down the Colorado River.” Clark, the ‘influential Austin lobbyist, was earlier accused by Hudson of working out ‘an escheat ‘compromise behind the scenes with Daniel. Hudson had ‘called the Daniel-Clark entente an “unholy alliance.” Clark had been out of town for some ten days, his secretary said, and he could not have made the threatening call. The lobbyist is known in Austin circles as a peaceful man. Gov. Daniel, on the safe side, asked ‘Col. Homer Garrison of the Dept. of Public Safety ‘to conduct an investigation. “If someone threatened , his life, even as a prank or hoax, I hope that person will be prosecuted,” Daniel said. ‘Hudson warned he would fight the escheat measure an the Senate floor and described Daniel, his old foe, ‘as “a demagogue, not a big one, but a little mousy one.” The Senate panel working on the escheat bill reported out an amended version of the House measure. Lengthy hearings on the Houseapproved loan shark bill were conducted by the Senate state affairs committee, which buried similar House legislation in the regular session. A parade of witnesses, including several representatives of “small, small” lenders who said the bill would put small loan companies out of business, appeared before the panel Wednesday and Thursday, prompting Rep. Criss Cole of Houston, sponsor in the House, to warn against a renewal of the same criticisms that killed loan shark regulation in 1961 and to predict that “we’re going to get another filibuster by the loan sharks” in the Senate. The House ‘loan measure regulates those lenders who make loans of less than $1,500, estabits1hing a graduated rate scale from three percent per month on loans $10 and under up to five-sixths of one ‘percent per month on ‘loans from $500 to $1,500. Also In the Senate, the finance committee sent to the ‘floor Daniel’s requested appropriations package, but ‘in reduced form. The “economy package” would provide $65,000 for juvenile parole, as corn pared with ‘Daniel’s plea for $100,000, and decreased versions of the state advertising and San Jacinto mcnument requests. In the House, however, Daniel’s proposed appropriations for state advertising were sidetracked and perhaps killed when Rep. Jim Cotten of Weatherford led a successful effort to divert $220,000 which might have been used for that purpose to legislative expenses. The expanded juvenile parole program also hit a snag in the House. Rep. J. Collier Adams, Lubbock conservative, warned he and a large bloc of other conservatives would oppose the measure on the grounds it would strip local courts of much of their authority in juvenile cases and that the localities could handle the problem. In an effort to get at least part of his modest spending program, Daniel this week said that early -collection’s for the escheat bill can ‘be used ‘to finance the new ‘appropriations. The state treasurer has already reported a collection of over $2 ‘million to the state from that source, with more coming in. There was a hot debate in the House on a simple resolution asking Texans in Congress to oppose federal aid to education. It carried, 102-32, after Rep. John Allen of Longview, the sponsor, said the federal government should not encroach on Texas education, local districts can adequately support state schools, and Uncle Sam already owes too much money. Rep. Bill Hollowell of Grand Saline added that more federal school aid would mean that bureaucrats like Abraham Ribicoff and Chester Bowles “will tell you how to educate your children.” Liberals unsuccessfully argued that ‘the state received $345 million in federal money last year ‘in all fields and that Texas educationwas poor. Daniel advised legislators who would like ‘to introduce local bills to “come talk with him,” a sure ,sign that some hard trading will be in the offing in the closing days of ‘the session. THE TEXAS OBSERVER Page 2 Jan. 19, 1962 CAMPAIGN PRINTING no job too t ough… Futura_euss GR 2-8682 1714-A South Congress Ave. P. 0. Box 3485 Austin 13, Texas