Corpus Christi Caller-Times from Corpus Christi, Texas • 20

Kidnapings Cause Security Problems By MALCOLM BROWNE Nw Yark Tlmn Ntwi Service MONTEVIDEO Uruguay The spread of in Latin America is shak-embassies to political kidnappings in Latin An governments and forcing ing spend! more time worrying about worrying about security than it foreign relations In the nearly unanimous opinion of officials no solution is likely to be found short of eliminating all terrorists So far this year there have been at least 18 successful or a America have included afamer president of Argentina the foreign minister of Guatemala and the former foreign minister of Colombia Among foreigners the victims have included ambassadors consuls labor commercial art military attaches and even consultants with no governmental positions Additionally the hundreds of apparently serious kidnapping threats that have been made this year fill the files of embassy security offices throughout the continent While political kidnapping is not new to Latin America it has never before been a common practice Now guetTillas of all politi- The United States Stale Department has asked Congress for an extra appropriation of $125 million to improve the security of embassy staffs Most of this money presumably would be spent to provide officials ranking below ambassadors with personal protection The bodyguards sometimes ride with the ambassador and sometimes in trailing vehicles errillas from concentrating on one isence has rarely deterred Inapers How are diplomats to be protected? Although kidnapings might be averted if members of a diplomatic community were to live and work in the same heavily guarded a measure tested by officials in rural areas of South such a step is Impracticable in Latin-American capitals MOST EMBASSIES now believe that the only effective measure is to adapt to the own tactics One step would be to reduce the size of the target by cutting down the size of embassy staffs As a result of the current economy drive by the State Department this was being done anyway Furthermore in Uruguay where kidnaping incidents have reached crisis proportions Brazilian Embassy officials have sent home their wives and children Another approach is a drastic reduction of travel and secrecy in planning any essential trip even to a downtown supermarket US Embassies in Latin America have issued directives for their workers to avoid talking even with close friends about travel plans In the diplomatic sphere efforts have been made to obtain some hemispheric agreement on how governments will handle the kidnaping problem When the issue was raised at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organization of American States in Washington last June 25 Argentina art Brazil called for a uniformly hand line in which all governments would agree not to provide asylum to any political prisoners freed as ransom for kidnaping victims But a number of governments notably Chile and Mexico felt that such a measure would infringe on the Itin-Amejncan principle of political asylum Latin countless coups result in a steady flow of political exiles from one country to another The meeting adopted a compromise resolution sponsored by the US that condemned terrorism and called on the Inter-American Committee of Jurists to prepare within 60 days a draft treaty that would declare kidnapings of foreign diplomats to be international crimes not subject to political immunities In the meantime Argentina Uruguay Paraguay and Guatemala have pledfpd not to make any deals with any kidnapers whatever the cost in human lives Pausing for a few minutes from the seemingly endless task of cleaning up after Hurricane Celia one cannot help wondering what the Corpus Christi area will look like a year from now Though some aspects of a comparison obviously will be inadequate we can turn to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for at least part of the answer A year ago a tragedy even worse than Celia blew inland through the Biloxi-Gulfport area Hurricane Camille now is considered to have been one of the worst natural disasters in US history Her destruction was felt in five states more than 250 persons were killed and property damage soared to $14 billion But the Mississippi Gulf Coast has come back In fact Mayor Danny Guice of Biloxi recently told the Wall Street Journal: was a terrible and tragic thing but in the long run it may prove to be a blessing in disguise for our area All this attention receiving is helping us build a better city than the one we had before the Fears that industry would pull up stakes after Camille rather than rebuild out of the ruins proved to be baseless not one major industry has left Some in fact expanded as they rebuilt This may offer some reassurance for those worried about effect on big business in the Coastal though it is of course not inviolable prophecy Biloxi and Gulfport reportedly show few signs of Camille today except for beach areas But as we persevere in our efforts toward reconstruction we should take a warning from the fate of some of the smaller towns along the Mississippi coast The Journal reports that half of the businesses haven't yet reopened in Pass Christian and that its mayor still works out of a trailer A major reason for this slow recovery is believed to be an estimated 20 per cent drop in tourism in the a terrific handicap for an economy so oriented toward tourist trade And yet it would seem logical that tourism will continue to suffer as long as scars mar the area On the whole though most areas ravaged by Camille have recovered to at least the status they held before she came Ibis should provide hope as 'we struggle back to our feet in the aftermath of just as those scattered piles of rubble which do linger to remind Mississippians of Camille should encourage us to push full recovery efforts indefatig-ably until the job here is completely finished weapon in a war usually waged against vastly superior military and police forces The use of such terrorism fits in with the concept of whan guerrilla as opposed to countryside that Latin-Amwican guerrillas turned to after the failure in Bolivia three years ago of the rural guerrilla band led by the late Ernesto Guevara In their kidnapping campaigns the urban guerrillas have many goals Kidnapping has been used this year to win the release of political prisoners to obtain ransom money to embarrass officials and to strain relations between countries The victims are vulnerable at almost all times SOME ARE SEIZED when they are alone for example the United States air attache in the Dominican Republic Lieut Col Donald Crowley was kidnapped March 24 when he was practicing polo on an otherwise deserted field in Santo Domingo Other victims are abducted from their homes as was a former president of Argentina Pedro Eugenio Aramburu on May 29 and a leading Uruguayan judge Daniel Pereira Ma-nelli on July 28 But most attempts are made against officials when they are traveling in automobiles Government buildings and embassies are always fairiy well guarded and no Latin-Amer-ican guerrillas have seized a diplomat in his office This has given rise to the use of bodyguards and in recent months many ambassadors especially those from large and politically important countries have been assigned permanent bodyguards AUSTIN NOTEBOOK RIGHT WITHOUT THE MEDIA THERE'D BE NO BAD LBJ Praise of Barnes Gould Cause Problems lieutenant next political move it would seem to point him more toward a 1972 US Senate race rather than a bitter contest for governor Barnes in fact already displays some signs of wearying with state-house tedium Washington is where the big action is and Johnson as coach would not likely let any of his charges forget it Governors in recent decades as international issues tend to dominate the political scene have lost their power to control national party nominating conventions and only a few enjoy much nationwide identification On the other hand considering the olive-drab complexion of today's Democratic gover Population Predicters Seeking New Techniques 1 nors Barnes would be a standout if he occupied a state chief job today In the Senate which has its share of handsome art aytic- By JON FORD Coller-TImet IkcIoI Cwrttpoitdtirt AUSTIN Former President Lyndon Johnson got somewhat-startled attention of a lieutenant governor's appreciation dinner audience when he in effect blew a Ben Barnes for president bubble Even Barnes who lumbered to the stage immediately afterward looking like his back brace was pinching and as The so-called in the Middle East though he know what Is of course in a sense a misnomer For all "fir- to do for an encore must have has not Rather only Egypt Jordan Je: ft the roent had and Israel have accepted the temporary cessation vfj- 1 nAmii of while Palestinian guerrilla groups deFeef1 fr0m Syrla hmS bJSi aSon! rnHarnyprincr 81 candidate- Many Pitfas Furthermore diplomatic fusillades endangering obviously loom for any 32- the cease-fire seem to be flying from all quarters year-dd no matter how able Israel has claimed that Egypt took advantage of yet confined to a state office the few hours just after the cease-fire began be- which ranks third or fourth fore US surveillance techniques had been fully lm- in even-homefront political FORD plemented to move Soviet SAM2 and SAM3 mis- prestige siles nearer the Suez Canal If this is true Egypt is Sagacious if sometimes impulsive LBJ guilty of a blatant violation of the terms of the £nows 11118 aeanlil cease-fire Egypt has flatly denied the charges BarnwapprUon inner speech Aug 14 was 'and 4V TTnltad C4a4oo nnitaiU ImMEilsafina 4Via DUTB LBJ Of tllO fMOlET pTCSidtotS SO- and the United States reportedly investigating the nhisticated speech writers would deliberately circumstances has avoided a direct judgment hmjw such gospel hymn phrases as be Late last week Egyptian officials rejected leads me I will follow" or such World War II American surveillance of the cease-fire by satel- slogans as have enlisted for the duration" lite and U2 spy calling US plans of this Ml of this Johnson managed to work into his nature a for This was surpris- projection that none other than Ben Barnes ing to say the least Though the details of the tiie with his loyal cease-fire agreement have never been fully Mid tmai iha officially disclosed it had been assumed in this thinfas ttas ifrSr goJemlbte Art cotaitry that Arab approval of sudi sunreillance Sared wth some of the otheTguys being activities had been won before the beginning of the nwimnnw! as Democratic candidates why not truce Some kind of surveillance in any case would Barnes who has put more mileage on his speed- seem imperative mi both sides of the Suez ometer in 32 years than most political types do Obviously the cease-fire is in a precarious in 50 and is apparently holding up well? So LBJ position And If it fails hopes for negotiations be- nuw have figured in propping a bouquet for a tween the Arabs and Israelis will collapse Provisions should have been with Arab frequentiy for immediate US reconnaissance oper- ations along the Suez as soon as the cease-fire ENCOMIUM may present took effect Apparently they were not Hie United some immediate minor problems -States now must move very carefully to preserve What is he for example going to do to top the precarious temporary truce while keeping the equal it when he speaks up again for an interests of Israel in mind in the event that the ftlend need Senate candidate Lloyd 1)etore a satttement hM been KvressoreJromteUbltedState that has been credited with acceptance of the dedication AugTwTBotKSoubtiSy will find cease-fire in the first place Similarly the Soviets away have been given credit for influencing Egyptian ac- If the Johnson boost of Barnes for national ceptance (and where Egyptian President Nasser leadership offers any due as to the young By STUART LONG Caller-Times Austin Bureau AUSTIN When the Texas Water Plan was being debated in August last year one criticism levelled by opponents was that the demographers had not been consulted on the population predictions on which future water needs were based With the shuddering surprises given the population predicters by the preliminary 1970 census the state government has turned to the demographers to find out who if anyone had the best method of predicting the 1970 census Gov Preston Smith has arranged to put a stop to the multiple making of population predictions by state agencies A contract has been given by Smith's office to the Population Research Center of the Department of Sociology of the University of Texas at LONG Austin to check out prediction system and see which one is the best then make new predictions using that system These will be used by the Texas Water Development Board in revising Its estimates of future water needs to fit the new facts of life on the slow-down of the smothering of the population explosion The Population Research Center has largely contended itself with making estimates of current population on the basis of current information It has been doing this each year except the census year and has been fairiy close od for each of the metropolitan areas which seemed to be the on the basis of experience as to how it would have come out on the 1960 census The prediction for the Houston population was amazingly dose The range was from 1710920 to 1893953 with 1802437 as the The preliminary census showed the Harris County population at 1722537 in the lower edge of the range also hit the Dallas-Denton-Collin-Ellis metro area on the nose with a "most of 1505369 and an actual 1970 count of 1500202 The Tarrant-Johnson area was predicted at 802596 art came out at 767104 Bexar County was missed badly tiie prediction being 1039183 and the actual 830661 Apparently the misses became wider as the population became smaller Vernon McGee Smith's director of intergovernmental activity said the decision was made to have the Peculation Research Center look for the best way was for two purposes FIRST BY HAVING scientists do the work no agency can be accused of having a vested interest and slanting the results Second by having a single study made and making it binding on all state agencies which plan conflicts will be avoided and money will be saved Of course predicting what will happen calls for educated guesses on the effect of the population-control movements the economy water supply -food demands and many other things The Bureau of Business Research of the University of Texas at Austin made the forecasts to the year 2020 for the Water Development Board making two basic that the birth rate would remain as it was in the early 1960s art that ample water supplies would be available everywhere to support population growth Some such assumptions will have to be made But the birth rate assumption turned out to be wrong in just five years Who can say how women of the 1980s will feel? ulate young men he may not be quite so conspicuous Meanwhile talk of great npnnrtunities tomorrow is helping (not that he needs a lot of musme help in his race for reelection) and is calculated to assist his 1972 takeoff whatever his course State Sen Charles Wilson of Lufkin chairman of a utilities study committee prepared a draft of a letter urging San City Council to refuse a telephone rate increase request He said the dty already has a rate structure higher than most municipalities of comparable size After a telephone talk with city hall however Wilson decided not to mail his letter QUICK ONES Top legislative sources are predicting new universities like UT-San Antonio face a virtually impossible fight far appropriations out of the money-short 1971 Legislature UT-SA is asking a mere $269 million for construction plus another $155 million for biennial operations furniture art equipment The Barnes appreciation dinner is expected to gross over $200000 Expenses and past political debts will reduce the new money take to about $120000 Barnes turned down an invitation to lecture at Oxford University in October Figured his GOP opponent Byron Fullerton would say he was over there running for king Change that speculation on next UT Board of Regents chairman from John Peace of San Antonio or Joe Kilgore of Austin to just Peace A new campaign song for GOP Senate candidate Geoige Bush needs a man like 'is sung to the tune of Cracked Art more appropriate music could not have been selected to go with those words However in 1962 the center had a prediction of the populations of the metropolitan areas as they would probably in 1970 SEVERAL METHODS of forecasting were used art the demographers selected one meth went King Hussein had promised to fol- and hopethat the SovieMJnion will do Attempts by Man To Influence Weather its part in applying pressure toward that same end A el before this first real chance for a settlement (dim though it may seem at present) is lost forever By HANS A SUTER PH 1 Hopes for such a success are flagging Yet we must remember that in the context of the hereto-fore intractable positions on both sides of the Mid- 5Ee ft 5Srt east turmoil the still stands as the acteristics of seed-producing biggest step toward peace in the history of the plants that yield more food Arab-Israeli conflict A single misstep could de- and he has changed the fer- stroy what progress has been made Our govern- tility of the soil As far as ment must use all means at its disposal to see that weather is concerned he still this does not happen seems at the mercy of the ele- ments Corpus Christi Caller-Times 1SE mw mu gKffl corpus christi Tts pours more energy into space My? Bar Pubiisw during one second than man SUTER Gilbert f' Vetters has ever produced in all of his activities A tiny fraction of this solar energy reaches earth fend tei one Barnes iMnSr powers the changes in weather which we call SlSSn rain thunderstorms hurricanes tornadoes etc Samuel it Swift Production Manager The amounts of energy involved in a hurricane "VVVVAVVVVVcr piffg stagger the imagination It has been estimated Mmm of Tht Associated Prt Th Associated Press is MtltM mcfuslvaly to Mt HP generates MT IHOT0 fha um for publication of all local new prlnttd In this ntwspoptr os wall as all energy In Single day ttUUI the total electric news dispatches in the Fs Is capable of producing in MAIL RATES: Miming evening and Sunday month S3S month! Sill 1 One year month WJf 1 month US Caller or Time and Sunday If month 124 A month Man attempts to tnfliipncfl the Weather Sit month mi 1 month tt CMIor or Tim only (no Sunday) if nianthi (Hi ronrh hVlr TnftTrwKUtnrw i rnum stub Mndw us i month sia Sunday only is month sit patterns reach back Into pre-hutory We are month Imantho 1 mnfh SI futiHar with the nih Of tiM American MjrRRAmrwovMlnaaadSuidoyIScanlawMkColtororTlmH Jngjjag mj other (Mpfel CWT the WOrfd have -r(Vr 'i --v v-' I passed through 'several weather history The advance and retreat of sheets were caused by relatively small in the average temperature of the the earth is geologically very it may be anticipated that the forces caused these temperature variations operative What caused the temperature Hard data are unavailable and offer an explanation Hie heat of our planet can be altered in several An increase of the carbon dioxide our atmosphere causes the temperature Indeed from 1880 to 1940 the earth temperature was on the increase but we are experiencing a decline in The decline is postulated from the constant outpourirt of dust as well as industrial activities dust cover encircling our globe energy from reaching the surface of thus cooling it Last but not least it is speculated increase in high-flying jets is contributing increasing cloud cover of our would be even more pronounced with of the controversial SST It is that we assess man-introduced effects environment before such changes reversible cycles in Its glacial ice changes earth Because much alive which are still to fluctuate? only speculations balance ways content of to rise average since 1940 average temperature to arise from agricultural Tnis prevents solar the earth that the to an planet This the introduction high time on our becomes ir I-.