ustxtxb_obs_1963_08_09_50_00010-00000_000.pdf

Page 8

by

ment pact. Unfortunately, I am afraid that the whole thing is a cruel deception. It creates a false sense of security on the part of people throughout the world as to what Soviet intentions are, and I intend to vote against the ratification . . .” V Rep. Bob Poage, Waco, endorsed the treaty. “I feel we must continue to try to cut the crushing cost of the arms race,” he said. “Surely both we and the Russians are better off if we both refrain from building 100 missiles than we are if each of us builds 100.” V Will Clayton of Houston was named to a president’s committee to plug for the treaty. He said that failure of the Senate to ratify would shatter the image of the U.S. around the world and immeasurably damage Kennedy’s reputation as leader of his nation in foreign affairs. It would be, Clayton said, “tragic and disastrous.” Polls Poles Apart V Results of congressmen’s polls appar ently vary with the district, and maybe with the congressman. Jim Wright, Fort Worth Democrat, and Bruce Alger, Dallas Republican, released results of their polls, Wright from 6,500 answers, Alger from just 10,000 of 20,000 answers received, his staff said. Here is a comparison of the released results on similar questions: Cut taxes? Wright’s poll, yes 54%, no 39%; Alger’s poll, 84% no, unless the cut is tied to tax reform. Continue foreign aid? Wright’s poll, yes 83%, no 13%; Alger’s, 94% no. Medicare? Wright’s poll, yes 41%, no 55%; Alger’s poll, 93% were even against private voluntary medical care programs with no federal participation. Withdraw from the U.N.? Only 20% of Wright’s respondents said yes; 56% of Alger’s 10,000 said yes. Alger’s poll showed 62% favoring repeal of the withholding tax and replacement of the graduated income tax with a flat percentage income tax. Wright didn’t ask about that. Young on Rules pg Rep. Pat Cain, Austin, is the newest name in the rumor sweepstakes for4 Cong. Homer Thornberry’s congressional seat. Thornberry, confirmed for his federal judgeship, won’t leave his House rules seat \(a key to passage of the whole Kennedy sion. House liberals have been bucking the reported decision to replace Thornberry on rules with John Young, Corpus Christi, on grounds that Young’s support of Kennedy programs ranges from 55% to 73%, not nearly good enough by liberals’ standards for such a crucial position. The Wall Street Journal reports “a change of heart at the White House” against Young. Redistricting V The Republicans’ suit to force con gressional redistricting in Texas pre cipitated a called meeting of the Texas Democratic delegation; there is talk of a 10 The Texas Observer meeting with the governor to effect redistricting. From the liberal Democratic directiona suit filed by Rep. Bob Eckhardt, Houston ; Harris County Democratic chairman Bill Kilgarlin; Sens. Don Kennard, Fort Worth, and Franklin Spears, San Antonio; and Rep. Jake Johnson, San Antoniothe federal courts have been asked to effect legislative redistricting, too, if the legislature does not do it \(in a special on added potency when a special threejudge federal court re-districted Oklahoma’s legislature, giving Oklahoma county, which now has one state senator and seven House members, eight senators and 19 representatives. The Texas legislative suit would give Houston, which now has one senator and 12 representatives, perhaps three more senators and seven more representatives. The Teamsters V Ray Shafer, San Antonio teamster leader, said in Dallas during the Southern conference of teamsters that his union is readying six more local coups of the Crystal City kind, two in the lower Valley, one along the border, one near Crystal City, two in Central Texas. This sent an Austin American reporter hustling to San Antonio to interview Albert Fuentes of P.A.S.O. on which cities; the results, inconclusive. P.A.S.O. V Reports reach the Observer from the Valley that P.A.S.O. has been making substantial progress there. One meeting in San Benito was attended by a reported 120; there are now a couple hundred paid P.A.S.O. members in Cameron county, and there are drives to form chapters in every town in Hidalgo county. . . . The tangle pursuant to the Corpus P.A.S.O. pull-out continues. . . . Cong. Henry Gonzalez, San Antonio, who did not attend the state P.A.S.O. convention, is a principal speaker at the American G.I. Forum convention in Chicago Aug. 24. . . . Meanwhile, E. B. Reyna of La Joya has formed an antiP.A.S.O. group, “the Hidalgo county progressive league,” made up largely of middle-class Latin-Americans. Other Morsels V Don Yarborough told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, “Yes, I am thinking about it,” that is, running against John Connally in 1964. V Roy Evans, secretary-treasurer, Texas A.F.L.-C.I.O., told the Houston Chronicle, “Connally got elected by the Negro, Latin, and labor vote against Cox. This is where his appeal should be, but it hasn’t / been so far. Labor has made no decision as to whom it will support in 1964 for the state offices.” V Eugene Locke, Connally’s Democratic state chairman, said in Dallas that party officials, including county chairmen, Coming The Observer is now preparing a special issue on east Texas, in which, of course, will be reported recent developments there as to segregation. should resign if they cannot support all Democratic candidates. V Lt. Gov. Preston Smith, a dyed-in-the wool conservative, told the Chronicle: “Most of the people I talk to are against Ralph Yarborough and mad at Kennedy because of the civil rights program.” V Connally did not appoint, as Tunnell wanted him to, Smith county judge Harry Loftis of Tyler as a district judge. V We have two incensed letters, from Kathleen Voigt and Nancy Phillips of San Antonio, confuting an item in political intelligence July 12 that Bexar county Democratic chairman John Daniels “conspicuously omitted from his guest list local liberals who are not noted for friendliness to Johnson and Connally,” which observation we therefore withdraw, with apologies to the affronted parties. V Sen. Spears has been gallivanting around the state to receptions and other speech-making opportunities, but says he’s not planning to run for statewide office in 1964. V Rep. W. H. Miller, conservative dean of the Houston House delegation, announced for mayor of his city, then \(flourishing a letter from Tunnell begging him after he announced. Mayor Lewis Cutrer, likely to seek re-election, has made some dramatic repairs in his record as to police brutality, resulting, some observers think, in a weakening of challenger Rep. Charles Whitfield’s appeal to Negro voters on that issue. V Atty. Gen. Waggoner Carr and Con nally acceded to U.S. Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy’s request for delay in Texas prosecution of John Stanford, San Antonio, under anti-communist laws, until the U.S. finishes its prosecution of him. V Americans for Constitutional Action, the right-wing answer to A.D.A., said G.O.P. freshman Ed Foreman, Odessa, had a 100% right voting record, and freshman Joe Pool, congressman-at-large from Texas, had an 80% right record. V. H. L. Hunt, the Dallas billionaire, at tended the Miami governor’s conference, but Connally made it clear, not at his invitation. V Edwin A. Walker said in Oklahoma City that Kennedy is leading the coun try into world socialism, and communist inspiration is behind “all racial disorders.” fro Good authority convinces the Observer that an Austin grand jury has been investigating reports an $800 hotel bill was paid for a certain legislator in connection with a certain concession involving state funds. V The Independent, a New York periodic al, reprinted John Tower’s discussion of conservatism in the Observer and the editor’s reply. “Byron’s Big Day” [Obs. May 16] was reprinted in the Tyler Star, a rebel weekly in that town. Extra copy orders have been heavy for the Webb_ issue of July 26, on which there was a larger than usual press run.