ustxtxb_obs_1969_02_07_50_00013-00000_000.pdf

grab” by a man with only half his seniority. THOUGH IT has not been stressed in the daily papers \(especially lished Powers put the heat on in Speaker McCormack’s behalfbeginning with Lyndon B. Johnson. Few are eager to admit it, and those who do admit it do so only under cover of darkness, b u t Texas Congressmen were canvassed before the caucus and told by Johnson intimates that LBJ’s sympathies rested with the speaker; Udall, the Texans were reminded, had been one of the first House members openly to declare his opposition to the Vietnam war so dear to administration hearts. When Interior Secretary Stewart Udall telephoned several old cronies with whom he had once served in the House, to boost his brother’s candidacy, he soon heard from a high administration source that t h e president was “mad as hell” at him and the secretary should cease forthwith. The Udall forces were not really surprised at their lack of support among Texans \(though a few dreamers in his camp held out the impossible hope of as Congressmen have over the years solidified their images as routine old nosepick politicians with little or no stomach for minority causes. There simply isn’t a Che Guevara among them. The older and more slothful of the Texans were among Speaker McCormack’s more avid champions: George Mahon of Lubbock, nearing 70, Omar Burleson of Anamong the Texans using their power and seniority in McCormack’s behalf among their juniors. Olin E. Teague of College Station, who may be the original Aggie Joke, rather cuttingly rebuked Udall for some presumed audacity in challenging the speaker and the system. Texans close to Carl Albert of Oklahoma, House majority leader, and Wilbur Mills of Arkansas, chairman of ways and means, \(each of whom palpitates to be speaker their roles in arousing Congressmen of middling seniority against Udall on the “leapfrog” issue. The issue’s resentments, jealousies and fears were well understood by the power-broking old pro pols who so cleverly exploited it. The Udall camp, on the other hand, grossly underestimated the damage this issue would do their candidate. F o r Udall, the plusses of his lonely candidacy are these: minor concessions granted by Speaker McCormack to the reformist insurgents, the open admiration of the nation’s editorial writers and the secret admiration of some colleagues even though they voted against him, and the admission by Sen. Ted Kennedy that his own successful challenge to succeed Sen. Russell Long as Democratic whip was inspired by Udall’s example. The minuses for Udall are not as clearly discernible: though with rare exceptions his conquerors are showing him day-today courtesy, it may be that he has so seriously offended Congressional powers that he has marked himself for the power-circle freeze for all time. W h a t the Udall candidacy proves so far as Texans are concerned is that the United States will have men walking around on the moon before Texas sends a delegation to Congress harboring any thing save minimal liberal or reformist instincts. It also proved that even as he packed for the final trip back to the Ranch, Lyndon Baines Johnson had time, pizzaz and bile enough remaining to punish yet another old enemy for his alleged misdeeds. HAVING OBSERVED the Texas delegation at close range for 15 years, one despairs at how little progress has been made in its make-up. One KnowNothing departs and another takes his place. Bob Price, Pampa Republican, is absolutely terrible but may have difficulty surpassing the reactionary record established by his predecessor, Walter Rogers. Where did we gain in trading Joe Kilgore for Eligio de la Garza down in the Valley? Austin’s Jake Pickle is not as consistent as Homer Thornberry was, and Ray Roberts is certainly no improvement over even an aging Sam Rayburn, who in last years lost much of his New Deal vision. Poage of Waco, Fisher of San Angelo, Burleson, Teague and Dowdy of Athens merely grow older and more out of touch with the world’s troubles. They are men of the 1940’s and the 1950’s in their outlooks, their cultures and their habitsand yet we have entrusted them with the staggering problems of the 1970’s. Before we end weeping let us rejoice that we are, after all, rid of Bruce Alger and Ed Foreman \(though he came back to Congress this year from his naside Ralph Yarborough voted for Senator Kennedy in his fight with Russell Long The March of Time Washington, DC A friend of mine from the Southwest was through town a couple of days back. We had dinner together. He was glum. “What’s the problem?” I asked. “Well, it’s just been a bad day,” he said. “It started bad and continued bad. Things started to go wrong when I woke up this morning and saw that my boots weren’t shined.” “Weren’t shined?” “Yes, normally I leave them outside my hotel door and next morning you can see your face in them. This morning, didn’t look like they’d been touched.” “That’s strange,” I said. “At lunch, I almost got in a fight with a bartender.” “With a bartender? How did that happen?” “I guess he was just dumb or something. I ordered bourbon and branch water, like always, and he looked strange The writer is a former Austin reporter for the Houston Chronicle who now lives in Washington. for a minute and then started snickering.” “Oh,” I said. “Anything else happen?” “Well, I sat down to lunch and could hardly get a waiter’s attention for the people at the next table singing and carrying on.” “Singing and carrying on?” “Yeah, they were singing ‘California, Dave McNeely Here I Come’ at the top of their lungs and were eating cottage cheese with ketchup and grapes.” “That IS strange,” I said. “So then I finally got a waiter and ordered spare ribs, like always at lunch, and people almost kicked over their chairs laughing at me for three or four tables around.” “I certainly can’t understand that,” I said. “After I paid my checkhad to use cash, they wouldn’t take my NeimanMarcus charge cardI got my coat and hat from the checkroom. Damned if my -Stetson wasn’t crushed. First time that’s ever happened in this town.” By this time, my friend was almost in . tears. “What have I done,” he wailed “How can I get good service in this town like I used to?” I leaned back in my chair and hooked my thumbs in the pockets of my Brooks Brothers vest. “Gee, I don’t know,” I said tically. February 7, 1969 13 DR. LOUIS E. BUCK Veterinarian House Call Practice GR 2-5879Austin House Call Fee No More Than Office Call Fee sympathe