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peatedly shouted “the law is the law!” during the Pensylvania trial. Berrigan is the sole celibate among six Irish-American brothers. Nonetheless, he remains a family man. He talks animatedly of his nieces and nephews, particularly of the three children of Philip and Elizabeth Berrigan. Ranging from one to nine years old, the three live with their parents and several other adults in Jonah House, a Baltimore religious community. The adults work at house painting, and gather surplus food from Baltimore wholesalers for their own use and for distribution to the poor. According to Dan Berrigan, the children accept all of the adults as parent figures, so that Phil and Elizabeth continue their activism and occasional trips to jail despite parental responsibilities. They do avoid risking jail at the same time, though, having worried their way through one period of simultaneous jail terms since becoming parents. Officially, Phil is a layman, having been ejected by the Brothers of St. Joseph in 1973 after his marriage, but he is looked on by the Jonah House community and his family as still a priest. Dan Berrigan speaks with great affection of Phil and Elizabeth, along with activist brother Jerry and his family. Once, when Jerry was jailed, Dan interrupted his jammed schedule to stand in as surrogate father for the high-school graduation of Jerry’s oldest son. The Fort Worth conference was the latest in a series of regional meetings held by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Founded in 1914, the organization is assuming a major role in the present peace movement. Recent months have seen a dramatic upswing in U.S. membership, with applications quadrupling to 200 per month. Dallas chapter leader Paul Hunter, organizer of the meeting, was happily nonplussed when attendance far outstripped accommodations at the Eagle Mountain Lake facility chosen for the meeting. By midnight on registration day, participants in sleeping bags jammed the meeting floor, and the lawn outside was dotted with tents. A heroic volunteer kitchen crew, helped by emergency grocery runs to nearby Azle, managed to feed the multitude, and traffic jams at the two restrooms were handled with appropriately amazing grace. Midway through the conference, the group adjourned to the main gate at nearby Carswell Air Force Base, where they sang, spoke, and prayed under the nervous eyes of SAC security guards. Passersby entering and leaving the nuke bomber base jeered and gesticulated in a scene reminiscent of ten years ago. Berrigan spoke briefly, likening the bomber base to Germany’s Auschwitz. Arms locked, the group struck up “We Shall Overcome,” but then disbanded without incident, to the obvious relief of tense Carswell security personnel. At the meeting’s close, Berrigan was approached by representatives of several Texas peace groups who urged his return for further dialogue and action. He expressed willingness. But then, with a slight smile and a characteristic look toward the horizon, he softly added a qualification that was pure Dan Berrigan. “That is,” he mused, “if I’m still at large.” One got the feeling that, imprisoned or not, the world has more to hear from Dan Berrigan. POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE A Nov. 23 letter from Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby: “. . . After much thought and careful examination, I have decided to support John Glenn for President. . . . Senator Glenn offers us as Texans the best opportunity to elect someone to the White House who understands Texas and its needs. He and his family lived and worked here for several years, and since moving back to his native Ohio, he has remained in touch with his friends here. In addition, his experience in the military, business, and now politics gives him a broad background and a keen understanding of what it is going to take to get this country moving again. Moreover, I believe his stands on education, research, and capitalism will fit well with those of most Texans. . . .” Hobby is hosting a Houston fundraiser for Sen. Glenn on Dec. 16. Robert Krueger has been itching to run for the last four years, Dolph Briscoe says he’s ready, and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros gets an occasional mention as a Democratic candidate for John Tower’s U.S. Senate seat in 1984. Another real possibility, Austin sources say, is state Sen. Lloyd Doggett of Austin. Apparently it depends on whether he draws a four-year term in the state senate. With a four-year term, he could run in 1984 and hold on to his senate seat if he lost. Look for Governor-elect Mark White to name Austin Mayor Carole McClellan to head the Texas Dept. of Community Affairs. TDCA, with an annual budget of $44,068,788, assists local governments in coordinating federal and state programs that affect local government. Jim Hightower is spending his days before taking office working to whittle away a 123,000-dollar campaign debt a new state law requires that all contributions be in by Dec. 10 and making the transition from candidate to officeholder. Since Texas, unlike most states, provides no transition money, Hightower is using campaign funds to hold his campaign staff together. “Texas just hasn’t had this kind of transition before,” he points out. “Some are easier than others. Obviously Garry Mauro’s got an easy deal.” Hightower says Reagan Brown hasbeen cooperative. “He called me at 8:30 Wednesday morning after the election and said, ‘I want you and anyone else you want to bring to come over and meet everybody,’ and we did that. The next Monday he brought in all the district supervisors and had all the office heads assemble in a room, then he also took us around and introduced us to most people, and he showed me the various facilities they’ve got around town here Hightower’s transition team, working out of a sumptuous parlor in Bob Bullock’s office, is also interviewing Agriculture Department employees. Hightower also hopes to add 20 people to the department. One of those will be Walter Richter, the former state senator from Gonzales and long-time Democratic Party worker, as deputy commissioner. Richter’s appointment should head off fears from the old guard that Hightower is some kind of Texas Jerry Brown intent on radicalizing the office. THE TEXAS OBSERVER 7