ustxtxb_obs_1971_12_03_50_00012-00000_000.pdf

“Pi s SPORT WLIC:4110.1” Iro ed JAL ea-ro,51 s a da3 591/te& ilg i f f x ! Color or 6/ack 1.\(tictilzho o y ,,ffront /47date of your letter and, briefly, what it was about and what the reply was. And then, if the lieutenant-governor chose to send you a Christmas card, that would also be entered on your green card, as would be the fact that you sent him one, etc. Robert Spellings, Barnes’ executive assistant, maintains that no one would have made anything of the phenomenon of a bunch of secretaries typing up Barnes’ green card file except that an overzealous Senate employee said to the inquiring reporters: “Don’t look at those tapes! They’re confidential!” and ordered them out. And when the reporters returned to the scene of the mystery with Senate Secretary Charlie Schnabel in tow, the joint was locked. “You know how reporters are about locked doors and confidential stuff,” said S pellings. Absolutely nothing confidential about it, said Barnes. Spellings told the two reporters who stumbled onto this find that the MTST machines belong to the Senate and would just be sitting idle if Barnes had not found this worthy use for them. Ditto the employees. And at the time he said it “would be a good interpretation” to say that the MTST lists would have a dual state and political function, that it was “possible” they would be used in Barnes’ cam paign. Spellings told the Observer a week later that the list would in no way, whatsoever, not at all, be used for political purposes. He did say that Barnes, with his own campaign money mind you, might later have the MTST lists computerized for campaign purposes. One capitalite familiar with MTST operations estimates that tapes alone for 90,000 names would cost several thousand dollars, plus eight secretaries working 45 days. Barnes’ only announced opponent Frank Briscoe said the boiler room 12 The Texas Observer GA’ LLEIIIN 600 Contemporary Paintings, Sculpture, Prints THE FINEST TRADITIONAL FRAMING Custom 1 31exiglass and Custom Welded Frames 600 West 28th at Nueces … phone 477-3229 The Texas Women’s Political Caucus, held in Austin Nov. 20, was . . . uneven, but generally on the grim side. It was a smaller and more raucous re-run of the Governor’s Conference on the Status of Women held in August, 1970. \(Obs. Sept. precisely controlled, but somehow dominated by the Business and Professional Women’s Clubs League of Women Voters Democratic Party honcho types. Since these women have worked long and hard for the cause of political change in this state \(and don’t let anyone with little or no previous political experience were hesitant to tell them to shut up and listen to new ideas. There were exceptions, of course: some young lawyers pretty well took over one caucus, some of the chicanas were not about to put up with any b.s. and Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who handled the case that got the Texas abortion law declared unconstitutional, won almost universal admiration. Many women around the state, who would have been interested, wrote the thing off when they heard that Liz Carpenter was to be the main speaker. “Well, ruffles and flourishes to you too, Liz,” said one sardonic Houstonian with NOW. Ironically, the intent of asking Carpenter, the Observer was told, was to broaden the spectrum, to include in the women who might be scared off at the thought of attending some Women’s Lib conference. Carpenter was . . . better than many had expected. There seems to be a discouraging kind of progress that divides the politically active women in this state. Say they start as two generally identifiable gioups, one at A and the other at B. By the time the A group gets to B, the B group has already moved on to point C. A year ago, the Biz and Prof-League-Dem types were frowning fiercely on any female who couldn’t behave herself like a lady. This year even Carpenter came thumping out against the “behave like a lady” syndrome. “We need people who’ll fight like hell,” she said. But by this year, the Outs \(will someone make nausea with anyone who not only had to state such an obvious point, but who seeemd to get an aren’t-I-revolutionary kick out of it. There were damn few bridges over the troubled waters. Sop to sexist myth: all they really did was talk, talk, talk, talk. Rules reform, which is the key to the democratization -of the Democratic Party in Texas, is currently trickling its way through the bureaucratic machinery of revelations were “distressing and shocking.” Spellings said the place is not a boiler room. Women organize