ustxtxb_obs_1976_12_10_50_00024-00000_000.pdf

Postmaster: If undeliverable, send Form 3579 to The Texas Observer, 600 W. 7th, Austin, Tex. 78701 function in Texas journalism, and I hope the enclosed in some way helps perpetuate the good work you are doing. Thomas V. Priolo, P.O Box 12117, Amarillo, Tex. Beware the wharves Tiger Jim Sewell About 25 years ago the Gas House Gang was born when eleven of us voted against the resolution in the Texas House of Representatives calling for the impeachment of Justice William 0. Douglas because of the tidelands decision. One of the eleven came to my desk to talk about it. He looked me straight in the eye, Cully, how pretty she looked, and then went away. Only days later did I know that Tiger Jim Sewell of Corsicana was totally blind from a war injury. Jim with his good humor, no self pity, and unlimited courage was always out front. His grit held us together as he fought for a variety of things. In those days of McCarthyism it was easy to feel sorry for yourself, but how could you when a blind man would walk up to that mike and fight ’til the cows came home? His wife, Janet, a fine person, had died a lingering death, and things had gone bad for Jim, although the last few months had their moments of good cheer. He had a great time attending the Democratic National Convention, and he organized his part of Texas for Jimmy Carter. When he died he was dancing to the tune “All of Me” with Kathleen Voigt; he was courting Kathleen at the time. Well, yesterday I helped carry Jim to his grave. The old friends were there: Judge Wayne Justice, Ralph Yarborough, Bill Kugle, Jamie Clements, among others, and hundreds of Corsicana people including a large sprinkling of blacks. He was one of the best men I ever knew in my life. I loved him and will miss him. Maury Maverick Jr., 725 Milam Bldg., San Antonio, Tex. Pan Am defended As a graduate of Pan American University, majoring in political science and minoring in journalism, as an ex-Marine correspondent, and as an ardent reader of the Observer, I would like to reply to Paul Willcott’s biased and out-of-context remarks \(“Failure at Pan Am,” Obs., Nov. Paul Willcott’s desire to display an air of authoritativeness by tossing rhetorical rocks at his fellow academicians is only surpassed by his insatiable desire to see his name in print. 24 The Texas Observer IDialogue To the casual reader, however, it would appear Mr. Willcott had done his homework prior to putting his pen to print with no less authority than were he able to walk on water, which I’m sure he feels he most unquestionably can. I suggest to the readers of the Observer that the facts and figures presented by Mr. Willcott to be of the utmost truth were not only taken from context, but are most assuredly a by-product of an overimaginative mind which not only suffers from frustration, but from a simple case of paranoia. While Dr. Schilling ranks, no doubt, the least popular of university presidents with both faculty and students, he has for a fact brought to South Texas a long needed university whose physical plant alone attracts qualified professors. But, most important, Pan Am’s enlarged and modern facilities are able to serve the needs of the 70 to 75 percent Spanish surnamed Americans who do indeed reside in the four-county area which is “poverty stricken.” Would Mr. Willcott have a university remain a stagnant pool of higher learning catering to and accepting only those high school graduates having credentials in English grammer that would mark them as future potential candidates for Nobel Prizes for literature? A more unbiased examination of Pan American University would reveal several programs designed and structured to meet and overcome the deficiencies found in students lacking in basic English grammer and command of the English language. I am proud to be a graduate of Pan American University, where I was never once refused audience with a professor and where professors never hid behind a veneer of arrogant superiority. Steve G. Hadlock, P.O. Box 848, San Marcos, Tex. Praise I don’t know how I nearly let my subscription expire, but the enclosed should take care of that oversight. Since you invited comments, I would like to state the Observer, in my view, serves a very vital Having just read the article “Showdown for superport” \(Obs., point out that despite what Galveston port director C. S. Devoy says about “the inherent safety protection of public ownership,” the Galveston wharves are not under public control. By way of proving this assertion I am attaching copies of two items: A legal opinion rendered by our city attorney on the occasion of my presenting a petition bearing the signatures of 10,575 Galveston residents concerning the destruction of a particular area \(the home of our trolled by the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees. \(By way of comparison, the total turnout at the last city council election was Among other remarks, the city attorney points out that the use of any area under control of the Board of Trustees of the Galveston wharves is solely at the discretion of the trustees and that the Galveston city council lacks any authority to direct the wharves’ trustees. Moreover, he adds, the whole matter has been removed from the initiative process by virtue of Galveston’s city charter and an act by the Legislature, Article 1187f. Article 1187f is a piece of special-interest legislation which is utilized exclusively by the Galveston wharves. No other port in Texas operates under the provisions of Article 1187f. Pages 45-51 from the city of Galveston’s most recently published Report on Bonded Debt. Note that the city charter puts sole management and control of wharves under the Board of Trustees, at least as long as bonds which it has issued remain outstanding. As you can see in the Report, the city cannot redeem all of the bonds until 1986. This date could be made later by the simple expedient of issuing more revenue bonds. It cannot be made earlier. Fellow Texians, please note that any matters placed in the hands of the seven men comprising the Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees cannot be removed from their control until 1986 or later, and that their decisions cannot be altered by the citizens of Galveston, even though they own the Galveston wharves. In Galveston, public ownership does not mean public control. Beware the Galveston wharves! Ralph Wood, 1802 Rosenberg Ave., Galveston, Tex.