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“…The sin of respectable people reveals itself in their flight from responsibility…” Dietrich Bonhoeffer Do you remember what the fox said to the little prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic story? He reminded the young wanderer that “You become responsible for what you have tamed.” And he went on to explain to the singular prince that to be tamed meant “to establish ties.” Ralph W. Yarborough long ago tamed the loyalty of us Texans. We, in turn, established ties with this independent and compassionate fellow Texan, our leader emeritus for democracy. While he was Senator from Texas, he championed the early, ground-breaking bills for federal aid to education, then the first breakthrough law for all of education in 1965. He was always for public power. When only eleven senators filibustered the communications giveaway that is now so obvious, he was one of the eleven. He was floor manager for the most far-reaching minimum wage bill since the New Deal, extending it for the first time to farm workers. He made, by law, 74 miles of Padre Island seashore and 77,000 acres around Guadalupe Peak our common property, and if any of the Big Thicket in East Texas is saved for our posterity, we will owe that to him, too. War on poverty, consumer protections, progressive taxation, food for peace, the alliance for progress, the nuclear test ban and proliferation treaties, the peace corps he was there, on the side of people. His Cold War GI Bill has qualified seven million veterans for scholarships and other educational benefits. His federal funding for bilingual education has probably done more to liberate the lives of young Mexican-Americans than any other law of the modern era. He fought for medicare and for national health insurance. Though he is no longer in public office, he continues to work and share his life with younger and less experienced students of public affairs, and his colleagues on the Texas Constitutional Revision Commission are learning what his old colleagues in the Senate learned long ago that Ralph Yarborough works harder and fights more skillfully for the people’s interest than anyone else around. All this, and yet the financial burden of the $49,000 campaign debt incurred in 1972 still plagues him. But it is really our debt. If he had won, a joyful treasury would have gobbled up the debts . . . for Bill McAfee’s printing, for phones, for T.V. and radio, and the other necessaries. Ironically, Ralph Yarborough’s loss makes it tougher for us to give, but all the more imperative that we contribute whatever amount we can. Ralph Yarborough’s almost 14 years in the U.S. Senate. The color of gold in the wheat reminded Saint-Exupery’s fox of the gold in the little prince’s hair. The golden sand at Padre Island, the lush green of the Big Thicket, the rosy glow in the cheek of a well-fed youngster remind us of our ties with Ralph W. Yarborough. Let’s remember the man who has -never forgotten us. Make your generous check payable to: RALPH’S 1972 DEBT COMMITTEE P.O. Box 12823 Austin, Texas 78711 Ad paid for by RALPIVS 1972 DEBT COMMITTEE Mrs. Joyce Shaw, Chairperson, P.O. Box 12823, Austin, Texas 78711. A copy of our report filed Washington, D.C. 20402.