ustxtxb_obs_1969_04_25_50_00015-00000_000.pdf

4441 Fredericksburg Road \(U.S. 87 N. Business, Between Loop Mobil American Express Carte Blanche Accepted SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS for business or vacation Spacious rooms, air-conditioning, large swimming pool and lounging area … 24 hour Waffle House; Dining room for steaks or complete meals … $8.00-$10.00 -single $10.00414.00 double FAMILY OF FOUR “SPECIAL” AT $15.00; Executive Suites from $15.00-$19.00 daily. Si esta LAitoteP Austin A handful of last-minute Connally appointees, already confirmed by the Senate, are finding their sinecures challenged by Gov. Preston Smith. In attempting to get legal opinions and legislative action on the confusing timetable of gubernatorial appointments, Governor Smith is doing state government a long-neglected service. This is not to say that he will not profit politically from Atty. Gen. Crawford Martin’s opinion that Governor Connally did not have the authority to make certain appointments. None of the appointees seriously under challenge thought Preston Smith should be Governor of Texas. Smith recently gave his criteria for choosing his aides and board members to a gathering of San Antonio businessmen. He said he looks for men “with integrity, ability, and preferably, some experience. I look for a man who is capable of friendship and loyalty. “You might want to stop me at this point and ask: ‘Do you mean you try to fill public offices with your friends?’ I would have to say, in all frankness, that I mean exactly that. …” If nothing else, our new maverick governor is honest. Negative The only real talent Speaker Gus Mutscher has exhibited to date has been for clouding, the major issues of the 61st Legislature. A case in point is his recent announcement that he “retired” the joint rules passed by the Senate. The joint rules, which would stop members of conference committees from slipping new legislation into compromise bills, have “too many e le men t s of negative management,” Mutscher said. He enumerated his own unintelligible ideas for rules, but added that he would not try to pass them because “we don’t have an environment that would put proper light on them.” Mr. Mutscher is something of a negative leader himself. Brazos Babbitt Some routine news releases that find their way to the Observer demand attention not for their informational value but for their sheer fatuousness. My favorite of the month, quoting at length a speech by the Aggies’ own Babbitt on the Brazos, Earl Rudder, comes from the A&M information office. It follows in its entirety: COLLEGE STATIONTexas A&M University President Earl Rudder promises “a hell of a fight” to would-be troublemakers at Aggieland. “They will have a hell of a fight,” Rudder told members of the Texas A&M Chapter of Future Farmers of America, “and this pot-bellied president will be in the front ranks leading it.” FFA members and guests gave Rudder a standing -ovation. “We must meet their power with power if they threaten our society,” Rudder said in reference to persons who would attempt to disrupt campus activities. The retired Army general said his main concern is to make A&M grow and keep its educational process operating smoothly. “I would use whatever force I could command to keep the educational processes at A&M continuing in an orderly fashion,” he added. Rudder, who takes every opportunity to express his pride in the A&M student body as a whole, also praised the Aggies in a welcoming address at a national transportation conference held on campus. “They are not perfect,” he observed, “but they are so far ahead of anything else I’ve seen as I’ve traveled around the country that I’m proud to be their president.” Asked at the FFA meeting about the long-haired, sandaled, and bearded element, he said beards on students “are just a means of seeking identification they can’t get any other way.” When asked about professors who sport beards, the A&M president replied: “The only thing I can say about that is I think. we hired the wrong professor.” He said if he were personally in charge of hiring professors, none would be wearing beards. “A prof who wears a beard in the classroom is just trying to substitute a beard for knowledge,” Rudder remarked. At the transportation conference, he praised the A&M students for waiting until they know more about the world before attempting to change it. And when they do try to change it, he emphasized, they go about it within the proper frame-‘ work. Last spring, Rudder noted, while stu-‘ dents on some other campuses were out rioting, A&M students were busy with a; “Miss A Meal, Feed a Multitude” project. K.N. April 25, 1969 15 Reflections An Honest Man