ustxtxb_obs_1966_02_18_50_00004-00000_000.pdf

NO ROOM Austin United Political Organization, the Negro group, met in Austin last week to hear the candidates and to make its endorsements. One of the candidates invited was Rep. Paul Haring of Goliad, Railroad Cmsr. Byron Tunnell’s opponent on the Democratic ballot. Haring has this story: “I got a telegram the day before, and they [U.P.O.] asked me to come up and be interviewed. I read in the paper where they were having a luncheon and the governor was going to make a few off-the-cuff remarks. They didn’t specify whether the luncheon was open to the public or not, and I thought that like at most meetings, the people were generally welcomed. I went up there a little ahead of time. They asked me if I wanted a ticket for the luncheon. I said yes. I purchased a ticket and went inside, and I was probably inside about ten minutes, visiting with people there. “All of a sudden, a whole number of people came in . . . I was standing there and Mike Myers came up to me and said, ‘I’m Mike Myers, Gov. Connally’s assistant. What can I do for you?’ I told him I was just visiting with some people there, and, about two minutes later, I was asked to leave by one of the leaders. They said the luncheon was already sold out, and they didn’t have any room. I told him I already had a ticket and he said it still wouldn’t be possible for me to stay, because they were interviewing all the candidates privately, and this was Gov. Connally’s time to be interviewed.” Haring walked down the street to a cafeteria and ate lunch. Ford of the San Antonio Express interviewed Democratic Senate candidate Atty. Gen. Waggoner Carr, who said he saw a “scheme between those elements Mr. Dugger represents and the Republicans for the reelection of Sen. John Tower. . . . I know there was a meeting at which the scheme developed. . . . I know some who were present.” The GOP’s Jim Leonard called Carr’s statement “wild guesses,” and Dugger told Ford, “My purpose is to win.” V “Second-hand party information” and his location in San Marcos were the reasons, said Bill Malone, that he resigned as chairman of the Texas Liberal Party. Bill Oliver of Beaumont will act as tempor ary party replacement for the history pro fessor at Southwest Texas State College. Malone had been warned by the school that his political work might jeopardize his job, but he said the reason he quit was, “I don’t know enough about what is going on.” He said the party planned to field candidates as liberal “alternatives,” but the deadline apparently passed without that happening. 4 The Texas Observer por Carr, in Washington to talk with the national Democratic committee about his campaign, met in private with Al Barkan, head of national COPE, and told him that he opposed 14-B repeal, but stood for labor’s other goals. Barkan reportedly said later, “That’s just like telling Texas oilmen that you are against the depletion allowance and with them on other things.” V The GOP is putting up candidates in five congressional races. Pampa rancher Bob Price, the Republican, polled 46% of the vote his last time out against incumbent Cong. Walter Rogers of Amarillo. Wichita Falls oilman D. C. Norwood will be the Republican on the ballot against Cong. Graham Purcell, also of Wichita Falls. George Bush, the Republican who close-to-mostly made it to the Senate, will face the victor in the race between Democrat Frank Briscoe, former Harris County district attorney, an intense prosecutor, Democrat loyalist John Wildenthal, and John VanOrsdale. Insurance man Jim Collins will be the Republican against Dallas Cong. Joe Pool. Adman Duke Burgess will go against Cong. Earle Cabell of Dallas. Only one race is left pitting incumbents: Cong. Lindley Beckworth of Gladewater and Ray Roberts of McKinney will fight it out in their combined east Texas district; the winner will have no Republican opposition. Fascinating Facts , Congressional Quarterly, the authori tative Washington reporting service on Congress, has produced a tome listing the vital available data on political financing in 1964. Some of the considerable information of interest to Texans about retical spending: Six Texans contributed $10,000 or more in 1964: Thomas P. Armstrong of Armstrong, Tex., $11,000 to the GOP; H. E. Butt, Corpus Christi, $13,500 to the Democrats; Paul D. Lindsey, Dallas, $10,000 to the Democrats; John W. Mecom, Houston, new owner-in-propect of the Houston Chronicle, $12,000 to the Democrats, $2,000 to the GOP. Four other Texans gave $500 or more to both sides: R. H. Cullen, Houston, $2, 500 to Demos, $4,000 to the GOP; Douglass W. Forbes, Dallas, $1,000 to Demos, $1,500 to Republicans; J. S. Josey, Houston, $3,000 to the Demos, $500 to the GOP; and John D. Murchison, Dallas, $3,500 to Demos, $500 to the GOP. Gordon McLendon, Sen. Ralph Yarborough’s 1964 primary opponent, gave $1,000 to Cong.-at-large Joe Pool’s campaign in the fall. The doctors’ group, “Tex Pac, Austin,” gave $4,000 to Cong. Bruce Alger’s losing re-election campaign. Sen. Yarborough reported to the Secretary of the U.S. Senate, among much else, that Democratic precinct 38 in Los Angeles contributed $4,000. “Artists and Entertainers for Johnson-Humphrey” reported an expenditure of $1,500 paid to Lloyd Hand of Los Angeles, now U.S. chief of protocol. C.Q. specifies reported contributions by a wide variety of organizations, including unions a n d opaque “good government” groups, to many Texas politicians. “For America” gave $500 to Palo Duro Press, J. Evetts Haley’s publishing company. The Statehouse Races fro Gov. John Connally and Lt. Gov. Pres ton Smith paid their $1,000 filing fees. Both promised active campaigns. Connally said he would lean heavily on water conservation, education, parks, highway and industrial safety, and state hospital and prison reforms. Smith said he would stress education, industrial expansion, water conservation, and tourism. V In a column headed “It takes one to call one,” Austin American writer Sam Wood criticized gubernatorial candidate Stanley Woods for complaining about Connally’s assignment of Rep. Wayne Gibbens of Breckenridge as the state lobbyist in Washington. Wood pointed out that Woods registered last year as a lobbyist against Gibbens’ oil-pooling bill, “So ‘lobbyist’ Woods calls Wayne Gibbens a ‘lobbyist.’ ” V On behalf of the governor, Dorman Winfrey, director-librarian of the Texas State Library, has invited a large number of citizens to the first Texas Governor’s Conference on Libraries, scheduled for the municipal auditorium in Austin March 23. The theme is local library development with financial resources now being made available to libraries. Judging from the indications, the invitees come from a wide political spectrum, suggestive of secondary political considerations. V Connally, back from Washington, where he sought and won from Sargent Shriver a pledge of strict state control over the Gary Job Corps training center, told educators meeting in Dallas that the Corps “gives us a rare opportunity to experiment and innovate in an atmosphere of complete freedom from established concepts.” Then he told how the 80 industries sponsoring the camp had been able to teach the teachers: “Management systems and procedures common to sophisticated industry have been devised to bring the program to the highest possible efficiency.” V Archer Fullingim, editor of the Kountze News, says he was dozing by his TV when Woods and Bill Hollowell woke him up with “the kind of speeches I haven’t heard since the days of Jimmy Allred.” Fullingim recounted what they’d said from memory, since, he explained, “I was too spellbound to take notes.” Not only that, he said, “next day I was so worked up I sent them $10, and I would advise all you folks who want lower insurance rates, lower interest rates, more doctors, higher old age pensions, more oil field jobs, better schools, better higher education, to send them anything from a dollar bill on up.” Crimestoppers V In the Democratic primary fight for attorney general, Sen. Franklin Spears of San Antonio began distributing toy plas tic whistles with “Let’s blow the whistle on crime” stamped upon them. A pollster told him crime is concerning the people. Secretary of State Crawford Martin, who waited a little before saying so, allowed