ustxtxb_obs_1976_10_15_50_00016-00000_000.pdf

since Hooverthe president who justified Watergate until the end, who pardoned Nixon while refusing to pardon draft resisters against the Vietnam war, who vetoed public works bills and other pro-people legislation Congress passed. OK, if that’s what you want to do, do it. But know what you’re doing. This is 1976. Perhaps in, say 1979, there will be a nuclear war. Perhaps, in, say, 1986, guerrillas associated with this and other countries will begin destroying the American society and democracy along with it. So, in 1976, are we supposed to say, “Oh, I can’t be botheredlet Ford win it, to hell with it.” That’s not moral superiority, it’s catastrophism. It’s not the will for structural reformit’s the will for disaster. Ignoring resolutions The contempt of the Texas Democratic Party for the policy opinions of its leading grassroots representatives continued at the recent state convention. Chairman Calvin Guest turned aside an attempt to have the resolutions considered early, and at the dying end of the convention, they were referred, en bloc, without approval or disapproval, to the State Democratic Executive Committee. This is what they call in the Legislature “deep-sixing.” Texas Democrats, in convention, no longer express themselves on serious issues; all they consider is their rules and who gets what office. This is the fault not only of those who put the gags in the Democrats’ mouths, but also of the Democrats who let themselves be gagged. I have a letter in hand from a member of the June state convention’s resolutions committee, Mrs. Mary R. Haynes, indignant that the painstaking work of all the precinct and county resolutions committees and of the thirty-odd members of the state convention resolutions committee were “bagged by Mr. Calvin Guest when he closed the convention without the report from the resolutions committee.” She pointed out that in June almost a third of the resolutions committee filed a minority report criticizing the S.D.E.C. for “absentmindedly” leaving the resolutions passed by the county conventions in Austin. Fondly, she reviews the resolutions which passed in June only to be squelched by Guest. These did not include gay rights or sanctions on Rhodesia \(as the Observer include a party purity law, development of 16 The Texas Observer solar energy, workmen’s compensation for farm workers, increasing the inheritance tax to $200,000, diversion of highway funds to mass transportation, proportional minority representation in the Democratic Party, opposition to the repressive Senate Bill 1, and other propositions. Consider the feelings of just one of the Democrats who labored on these serious issuesMrs. Haynes. She was raised among John Birchers. in Amarillo. In 1967 she received her college degree in zoology and chemistry from UT at Austin and went to work teaching science in the middle school and high school levels in public and non-public schools. At present she is teaching kids at Fannin elementary in northeast El Paso. She recently completed an MA in science education at UT-El Paso and next year begins work on a PhD, proably in education, at New Mexico State University. She writes: “I throw pots, read extensively, garden, play tennis, travel, and spend time with my familyChris, my husband, who is a lawyer, and Amy, my daughter, who is a hard-working third grader in a non-public school. As a family, we fly kites, collect antiques and good art as we can afford them, and communicate on many levels.” She was elected by her caucus in El Paso to run for the resolutions committee in June, and this happened again for the September convention. What has she to show for her serious work on issues as a Democrat? Nothing, and Calvin Guest. The reported new liberal-and-moderate majority on the S.D.E.C. should test its wings by giving an order to Guest and the state party’s staffers to see to it that, in 1978, the state convention considers resolutions early in the afternoon and formally votes, yea or nay, on each one that has been properly advanced from the resolutions committee for action by the convention. R.D. Dialogue I Fed head responds In the spirit of your editorial stance as a journal of free voices, please permit me to make several comments in response to “Just home folks on Federal Reserve boards,” written by Jim Hightower and published in the Sept. 17 issue of your magazine. Mr. Hightower seems to say that any members of the boards of Federal Reserve banks who are affiliated with large banks or other corporations are devoid of a sense of responsibility to the economic well-being of the general public. My experience and observations indicate that nothing could be further from the truth. All of these individuals with whom I have had contact are concerned with hOping to create a vibrant economic environment in which inflation will be minimized, employment will rise, and all people can prosper. In his discussion of the composition of the boards, Mr. Hightower fails to recognize that the Federal Reserve Act, as enacted by the Congress, specifies that the chairman and deputy chairman of each head office board be selected from the class C the Board of Governors’ selection of class C directors since these individuals must have proven executive abilities. Given the constraints of the law under which the Federal Reserve banks operate, the bank and trict do have broadly based representation of the economic activities and population of the Southwest region. This, even Mr. Hightower felt obliged to recognize, albeit grudgingly and in a distinctly backhanded manner. Mr. Hightower also neglects to mention that the Federal Reserve System has endorsed proposed legislation that would increase the number of public directors on reserve bank boards. I firmly believe that any objective viewer would be persuaded that the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and its branches do encompass, a broad range of relevant knowledge and talent pertinent to the purpose of the Federal Reserve System and the economy of the Southwest. We will continue, of course, to strive to ensure that we have broad representation of both economic areas and population, a task that will become easier as experience and expertise in economics, finance, and management become more widespread among the population. Ernest T. Baughman, president, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Onward Tonight I was watching the CBS national news, and they had a lengthy segment on the dangers of Mirex. As usual the T. Observer was ahead of most folks. Congratulations on the selection of Jim Hightower. Also, do you think the Times can think of some way to alert Molly’s fans to her articles? You know, a little note in the margin so I won’t have to plod through the sea of gray. Onward through the smog. Bruce Selcraig, 875 16th St., Boulder, Colo. Postmaster: If undeliverable, send Form 3579 to The Texas Observer, 600 W. 7th, Austin, Tex. 78701