ustxtxb_obs_1971_12_03_50_00011-00000_000.pdf

balanced tax package out of the 62nd Legislature, one of his staff members would type out a thank you note and your name and address would go on a green card, along with an F, for Friendly, and the December 3, 1971 11 oro IIINI NIS MN MO I= NW MIN MI 46 Call PICK, Before You Pack I FOR SAN ANTONIO. Enjoy real money-saving I value, and relax at the I pi [A.LB E 1LT OK MOTEL ‘I 96 N.E. Loop Expressway I Adjacent to San Antonio International Airport 111 Color TV in every room I Restaurant & Lounge Heated Pool 1 Family Plan I Free Parking 1 ALL AT MODERATE RATES I RESERVATIONS: CALL TOLL FREE I American Express Space Bank 1 800-AE 8-5000 S INI no No us no no mos so me on 1 2501 H. ST. M AQYS SAN AaroN t 0 Taking a plunge again Preston, Our Preston has done it . again; and is doing it again. He decided to announce that he will run for a third term late on a Friday afternoon when a good part of the press corps had already left town. The remnant jammed themselves into a tiny office at the headquarters of the State Democratic Executive Committee to hear the glad tidings. He got as far as, “I have made every effort to be a Governor . who upholds the Constitution and laws of this land,” when the lights went out. All hands stood awkwardly in the semi-dark for five minutes, making feeble jokes. “You’ve never had this much trouble before, governor,” called out a voice. “Heh, heh, heh,” responded Smith. “Maybe Frank Sharp wired the building.” No “Heh.” Light was eventually restored; on take two, Smith got all the way through his prepared text, which showed signs of last minute alteration. “When did you decide this, governor?” “Oh, I believe it was yesterday.” “What about the ethics issue?” “Oh; I think that will help us. I don’t think we’ve done anything that would cause the people to question our honesty.. . You know the Legislature [can any one else in the world say legislature the way that ethics bill and we all know it’s a farce.” “What about the Frank Sharp bills?” “Oh, I think that when the emotions die down, people will see my role as something to be praised. They passed those bills, you know, we killed them, we vetoed them. It is my understanding that those bills did not get proper consideration, that they didn’t even get a committee hearing in the senate.” “But didn’t you make a profit?” “We made no profit. We made an investment.” When asked about his former staff members whom he has recently appointed to state office, Smith was alarmingly frank. He said he felt Bob Bulldck could help him from his current position as secretary of state without having to resign. When asked about Barnes’ reaction to his entry in the race Smith said affably, “Well, you know, it hadn’t been my privilege to visit with him for some time. He’s real busy. He is, y’know.” And what is to be made of the remarkable spectacle of Preston Smith announcing for a third term? He’s got the scandal hanging over his head. His wife reportedly wants badly to go back to Lubbock. But, Smith wants badly to vindicate himself, to prove to himself that the voters don’t think he was guilty of misconduct in the Sharp affair. And he Political Intelligence hates Ben Barnes. But there’s a big difference between what you’d like to do and what you’re able to do. Even granting that’ the polls have predicted Smith a hopeless loser before during some of his winning races, what makes him think he can win now? Or even make a decent showing? The most likely reason is labor. Labor hates Ben Barnes too. Labor won’t go for Briscoe. No liberal other than Ralph Yarborough has even made noises about going for the governorship. And some labor leaders have been speaking with great affection recently about “Press-stone. ” Which likely means that Yarborough has decided to go for senate. BB ‘s boiler room The Ben Barnes Boiler Room Brouhaha is no Dreyfus case, but it has its points. One happy day two reporters strolled into the Senate Enrolling and Engrossing Office \(enrolling and engrossing are things that get done to bills, eight state employees busily punching names and addresses onto MTST and addresses, 90,000 of them, came from Barnes’ green card file. The green card system is commonly used by politicians to keep track of their correspondence: if you were to write the lieutenant-governor praising him for his triumph in getting a