ustxtxb_obs_1970_10_02_50_00008-00000_000.pdf

turnout is not well over two million. Only 1.5 million voted in the spring Democratic primary. Senator Yarborough is still taking potshots at Lloyd Bentsen. In debate on appropriations for the C’-SA aircraft in the Senate Aug. 26, Yarborough and Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wise., both lambasted Lockheed Aircraft, the company which produces the ill-fated C-5A. Yarborough recalled that Bentsen, a member of the board of Lockheed until he filed against Yarborough, “spent money in an amount that is triple any amount ever seen before in Texas primaries.” He suggested that federal monies going to Lockheed would enable them “to buy the whole Senate,” a point which Proxmire said was “extremely well taken.”. No pot plank Republicans met in Fort Worth for their state convention, a generally quiet and harmonious session in spite of attempts by Mrs. Nancy Palm of Houston, one of the party’s more conservative stalwarts, to force a showdown with gubernatorial candidate Paul Eggers on the question of marijuana. Eggers has come out for revision of the state’s marijuana laws to allow prosecution of individuals caught with large supplies of the weed as pushers without trapping them in a transaction. He also favors reducing first offense possession charges to a misdemeanor status, and it is that aspect of the Eggers program that upsets Mrs. Palm. Byron Fullerton of Austin, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, also has spoken against Eggers’ position. At the convention both sides let the issue drop, and no mention of marijuana was made in the fairly moderate party platform. Erwin wins again An attempt by some U.T. regents to . . limit Chairman Frank C. Erwin’s authority to speak for the Board of Regents failed, leaving the chairman stronger than ever. As a result of the attempted coup, Erwin’s hand-picked vice-chairman, Jack Josey, resigned, explaining that Erwin “should have a vice-chairman whose ideas and views on methods and procedures are more closely akin to the chairman’s views.” Josey will remain on the board until his term expires in January. The resignation prompted the Houston Post editorially: “Just what is going on at the University of Texas? Is a policy of rule or ruin being pursued? Is a great institution being re-molded to fit the ideas and concepts of one man? Once more we insist it is time for some straightforward answers.” Regent John Peace of San Antonio appears to be the frontrunner to succeed Erwin as chairman of the U.T. board. Erwin says lie will step down in January. Joe Kilgore of Austin is the only other regent who is considered a serious ‘ possibility for the chairmanship at this time. Kilgore, however, was an instigator of the move against Erwin, and he may have lost some influence as a result of his efforts to diminish Erwin’s power. More bad news for Corpus Christi. The U.S. Dept. of Labor has added Corpus to its list of major areas with substantial unemployment. Corpus is the only city in the state on the Labor Department’s list, which includes major labor areas with unemployment between 6 and 8.9%. Business firms located in areas classified as having substantial unemployment may become eligible for certification by the Labor Department for first preference in government contract awards under Defense Manpower Policy No. 4. The policy is designed . to give preference to firms that agree to hire disadvantaged jobless Persons. But while the feds give with one hand, they may be taking away with the other. Rumors persist that Corpus representatives are fighting a behind-the-scene struggle to keep the Navy from pulling out of Corpus. Since the military is the largest single employer in the hurricane-struck city, the closing of the naval facilities there would have a severe impact on the economic health of the region. Junket to Germany have been junketing again. Seven Members of the Texas press corps Texas reporters were flown gratis to West Germany from Sept. 4-14, courtesy of the National Guard. The ostensible purpose of the trip, which included three free days for touring, was to observe the Texas Air National Guard in its air-to-air refueling operations and to report on the training exchange program between the U.S. and West Germany. Some 482 members of the Texas Guard were shipped to Germany for their annual, two-week training session while an equal number of Germans came here. It wasn’t what you’d call a hot news story, but even Bo Byers, chief of the Houston Chronicle’s capitol bureau and a man who is reknown for his rectitude, went along on the freebie. Others on the jaunt were Jon Ford of the San Antonio Express: Kyle Thompson, UPI Austin bureau chief; Glen Castlebury of the Austin-Waco papers; Felton West of The Houston Post, Ernest Stromherger of the Dallas Times-Herald, and Pat Martinets of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The Daily Texan, that pillar of support for free speech, noticed a few weeks ago that for three months it had been carrying ads announcing the meeting place of the Gay Liberation Front. Loyd Edmonds, general manager of student publications, then banned the ads on the grounds that they were offensive to good taste_ and morality. The board of student publications met to override Edmonds decision, but wound up in a 4-4 tie. The matter was slated to be discussed again at the board’s Sept. 22 meeting, but Edmonds meantime had a change of heart. He decided that the following ad was not, after all, offensive to good taste or to morality: “Gay Liberation meeting, Monday, 7 p.m. at the Y above Somer’s, Emergency number 454-9207, for information and donations: Box holder 7301, Univ. Sta., Austin, Texas 78712.” GLF is a non-profit student group organized to promote understanding and civil rights for homosexuals through educational programs. The university administration denied the organization a charter last spring saying, “although GLF is an educational organization, it is contrary to the purposes of the University of Texas.” Food for thought there. GLF will try again for a charter this fall. Similar organizations have been granted charters at other state universities throughout the country. Jury stalling Mathis’ city attorney, Ed Yturri, has accused the grand jury investigating the July 11 shooting death of Dr. Fred Logan \(Obs., Yturri, . who is running for Texas attorney general on the Republican ticket, said the grand jury has not met since before Hurricane Celia struck the Texas coast. A couple of days after Governor Smith was called a racist by a group of Mexican-Americans meeting with him in San Antonio, 14 of the group wrote him an apology for the manner in which chicano complaints were presented. Handy Andy grocery stores, a chain based in San Antonio with branches in Austin and elsewhere, bought a large ad in the Sept. 4 San Antonio Express and reproduced the apology, designed to soften the damage done to Smith in the chicano community. Assets asked Congressman George Bush, the Houston Republican running for the Senate, says Lloyd Bentsen should spell out his business connections and disclose all his assets. Bush, a millionaire, made a full disclosure earlier. “This is no time for faint-hearted political compromise on the issue of ethical standards,” Bush told Ben tsen. 8 The Texas Observer