Denton Record-Chronicle from Denton, Texas • Page 16

I Sunday, March 2,1975 Sen. Lloyd Bentsen's hope for a presidential primary fn Texas turned to disaster at the hands of legislators 1 read newspapers to see how God governs the world, --John Newton County On Right Track The Denton League of Women Voters last week cautioned Denton County commissioners to look before they leaped out of participation in the orth Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) 1 In making the league's presentation before commissioners, Mrs. Isabell Miller. the organization's president, pointed out that the technical know- how of a regional government operation "makes more sense In short, she proposed that if Denton County was dissatisfied with NCTCOG, commissioners should work within the system to rectify the situation rather than abandoning it entirely. COUNTY COMMISSIONER Bill Switzer of Sanger, who has headed the Bentsen's Bid Another Texan bitten by the presidential bug is in the running.

Democratic Sen. Uoyd Bentsen. Jr. has opened his campaign for the Democratic Party nomination of 1976. Bentsen is the fifth Democrat formally in the race.

He is probably the most conservative candidate of the five but he is probably more accurately described as a middle-reader. Bentsen says recession is the major issue facing the nation and believes his 16 years as a Houston insurance executive makes him the best qualified man in the race to create jobs. He has served three terms in the House and is running for a second Senate term. Not too well known nationally, Bentsen must be given a serious chance for one of the party's nominations because of geography, because there is no dominating candidate on the scene and because he and his wife are attractive campaigners. bid is an underdog one.

move in questioning the effectiveness and value of NCTCOG, responded to all of this intelligently when telling Mrs. Miller her "statement sounds good." Indeed, it does. But commissioners shouldn't let it go at that. The concept of regional planning sounds like a lot of things involving centralized government, it doesn't always work. In Denton County's case, commissioners have experienced NCTCOG dealings that have been questionable in application as well as expense.

The immediate example is the county's recent experience in the appointment of a director for a manpower development program serving Denton, Wise and Collin counties. Following a hassle with the regional agency over whether the county's choice of a director would stand, the manpower program was installed at a cost less than the same services could be made available through NCTCOG. The entire experience with NCTCOG has prompted Commissioner Switzer to comment that directors of the agency "are making up their own rules and 1 FOR A LOT of people, it is all to other experiences with state and federal bureaucracies that have assumed power over local government. At the same time, few can argue that on paper and in theory the concept of regional planning sounds good. But what sounds even better is hearing our county commissioners speak out and question ineffective management and expenditure of our taxes.

Future meetings of the commissioners are anticipated to continue examination of whether Denton County will maintain its participation in NCTCOG. If it is determined the needed changes cannot be brought about, commissioners shouldn't hesitate to withdraw from NCTCOG. AUSTIN Sometimes something that seems like a zingy idea turns out to be just awful when it is carried out. Former President Richard Nixon could say that about his idea to tape all his conversations. Sen.

Lloyd Bentsen may well be saying it about his decision to push for a presidential primary in Texas in 1976 as a way of showing the nation how much the home folks love him. BECAUSE BEFOUE the Legislature's battle over the issue is over, and before the Democratic convention in May, 1976, is over, Bentsen is going to have a lower "love reading" than he would have had if he had just laughed off (he whole primary idea when somebody suggested it to him. A lot of Texans, weary of battles in precinct, county and state conventions of the Democratic Party, have ached for a presidential primary, to get rid of all that trouble and toil. There was a loud cry for a primary after 1952, when both the Democrats and the Republicans from Texas sent rival delegations to their national conventions. It came up again after latter convention debacles, and there has always been something of a sentiment for presidential primaries among the Texas political insiders.

But in recent years, Democrats have worked cut a huge set of "fair play" rules, with guidelines by the mile, to see to it that everybody gets into the hall when convention times come. notebook AND HERE WAS Bentsen's name attached to a bill which would not begin to meet the tests of those rules. Rep. Tom Schciffer of Fort Worth, to whom Bentsen had entrusted the master-minding of passage of the bill through the house, got a telegram from some underling in Washington saying the bill complied, but there were plenty of Texans on the spot who knew better. At any rate, a combination of Democrats and Republicans slapped down the Bentsen version, and forced a compromise which may or may not become law.

11 all depends on whether Br'er Bentsen can find his way out of that brier patch into which he was led when somebody told him his bill was not a "winner take all" plan. The bill still has to pass the Senate and be signed by Gov. Dolph Briscoe, a Bentsen supporter. If things keep going as badly as they have, it may be that Bentsen will get Briscoe to veto the bill as a friendly act. But here is what has happened to Bentsen as a candidate for the presidential nomination.

First, the nation has learned that'he can't even get the Texas House of Representatives to pass the bill like he sent it dovm from on high. Second, he has stirred opposition within Texas to his favorite son campaign which two weeks ago looked to be well nigh unassailable, if not impregnable or unsurmoun table. Third, he has shaken up some of his friends who felt that Bentsen was a man whose staff work could be depended on to carry through once he had given the signal. BENTSEN WAS saying in Washington that he had 100 votes in the House for his bill, and his friends down in Austin were telling him that he would do well to get 75. Sure enough, on the big test vote, Rep.

Dan Kubiak of Rockdale prevailed over Scheiffer, 75 to 68. After hard night's work, Scheiffer's compromise was adopted 84-63, far from the landslide he had been expecting in the first place. And the scars left from the days and nights of fussing and feuding will still be itching in 1976. The hopes of a fairly solid, hand-picked slate of delegates from Texas to the national convention in 1976 is as dim as memories of 1776. One of the cartoonists had Mr.

Nixon telling Mrs. Nixon that he had had a wonderful dream -that Butterfield hadn't mentioned those tapes to the Senate committee. Bentsen may be telling his wife, B. that he, too had a dream that he just had not listened when someone suggested that a zingy way to win the White House was with a presidential primary' in Texas. Congressmen Are Dodging Ford Bullets Gaining access to public records at North Texas State University is remindful of the old Abbott and Costello routine of "Who's on First?" At least that was the experience Friday of two Record-Chronicle reporters.

J. Taylor, NTSU custodian of records, told the reporters class rolls were open records "if they existed." He added later: "I'll tell you one thing, you're not getting anything today." Registrar John Brown confirmed that the records did exist and could be made available within an hour jf. Taylor gave the okay. About an hour after filing a written request for the documents. Taylor said that tne information was now available and arrangements should be made with Brown to pick it up.

In contacting Brown, it was learned that his office was "snowed under" and it would be Monday afternoon before the material would be available. Calls were made by the Record- Chronicle to certain state and private offices in Denton, Austin and Houston. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Gus Ferre, vice president for academic affairs at NTSU, remedied the problem in quick fashion. All but a portion of the requested information was made available within the next hour.

tThat 11-candidate slate of hopefuls vying for three slots in the April Denton City Council election is prompting veteran City Hall observers to speculate about the possibility of a record vote being cast. Reasons? A more than usual amount of interest in municipal affairs on the part of citizens, the general caliber of candidates, and their diverse backgrounds and interests head the list. Texas Woman's University is next in line for the routine audit carried out in every public university by the State Auditor's office. The auditors expect to find a much lower faculty salary surplus for fiscal 1974, with $521,386.06 reported left over, as compared to' that for fiscal 1973. when Sl.225,703.89 remained unspent in funds appropriated for faculty salaries.

Leftover appropriated money returns to the general revenue fund, but the legislature customarily re-appropriates it when it is appropriation is a bill pending in the legislature now which would make this automatic. By Stan Opotowsky Flushed by the new power it feels it has seized through the failures of the Presidency, the Congress is threatening to take control of our destiny. A little bit, but not too much. The Congress collectively scoffed at President Ford's energy program and pronounced that it would produce its own masterwork. EXCEPT THAT when the Senate Finance Committee met for the first time to draft its own energy program the meeting had to be cancelled because not enough members showed to produce a quorum.

And there you have the whole story of Congressional rule. The issue seems to be rationing versus higher taxes. Some people are in favor of one system and some people are in favor of the other. Faced with having to choose, the Congressmen stayed home, and they'll keep trying to stay home until the issue is resolved by some other force, preferably Divine Guidance. It's all very simple.

If the Congressman votes for rationing, all of the higher-price adherents will be down on him. And if he votes the other way. then the rationing people will be against him. BUT IF HE hides his office and doesn 1 commit himself at all. well, he can blame the ultimate result on the other political party (no matter which one claims him) or the Administration or the oil trust or whatever.

Which means that he would have obtained another gold star in the Congressional Club since that's what their business is all about. It would be "nice to assume that the representatives of the people meet in concert periodically and vote the people's will upon the nation but, alas, that's the last thing which is going to happen in Washington. WE ARE FACED, instead, with.a special class of nonworker who draws a salary for pretending to serve the public but actually serves a constituency which consists of kinfolk. employes, hangers-on and campaign contributors. The best bet for the Congressman is to do nothing, since people are more likely to become angry at the man who did the wrong thing than Ihey are at the one who did nothing.

There is an old Congressional trick of putting before the House or Senate a preliminary bill to every controversial bill. The Congressman votes on one side on the preliminary bill, and then voles on the other side when the real bill comes up. And, when he's challenged he can claim to have voted on the right side no matter how the constituent feels. OCCASIONALLY this catches up with them. Harry Truman won one of the biggest upsets in political history by running against a "do-nothing Congress" because the people happened to become exasperated with the profession pussy- fooling at that moment in history.

We may have reached a similar moment now. Those play-safe charlatans in Washington may he out-smarting themselves this year. A Constant In The Shifting Scene AUSTIN Purists will avow as they sorrowfully sip their Lone Star beers that the City of Austin's new found popularity ultimately will be the ruination of Texas' unique capital. Once, in simpler times. Austin was a relatively quiet little city dwarfed by the state's metropolises of Dallas and Houston and nestled in the rolling hills of Central Texas.

But today, Austin is booming. THE POPULATION is increasing and construction here also is in a statr of healthy growth, despite the gloomier reports elsewhere. There is a body of thought here, however, that views the burgeoning growth of Austin as a threat to the city's environment and the quality of life which drew its population in the first place. In years past, and to a large extent still today, Austin had the flavor of a medium- sized provincial municipality, tucked away from the brisk pace set in other Texas cities, which just happened to be the home of the state's largest university and of The Best Show in Town The Texas Legislature. WHILE OTHER aspects of Austin may have changed in recent years, the legislature, wilh its well-publicized antics, remains a constant in the shifting Austin scene.

To an Austin newcomer, the first impression of the Capitol Building is an impressive one. Located in the middle of a state complex on the edge of the downtown area, the Capitol building towers over the newer and more modern buildings there, as if to say. with its classic lines and domed roof. "I may be old. chums, but I'm STILL No.

But if a stroll through the tranquil Capitol grounds at night is one of the most beautiful and relaxing walks around, alter one steps through the door of the Capitol, it is quite literally another world. This one is a politicians' world, and to the uninitated. it can be one of chaos, missed appointments and downright bone-wearying confusion. The first things one notices as he enters the Capitol are the door hinges. There they are, each elaborately engraved with the words "Texas Capitol." It's the first example of the kind of tradition-packed atmosphere that exists around the place.

The real surprise comes when the legislature is in session. SITTING UP in the galleries and looking down, one wonders how in the world anything gets done. In the Texas House, for instance, the representatives are in a constant slate of motion, even when debate on an important bill is taking place. During rhetoric thai was passed hack and forth during ihe fight over the so-called "Bentsen the law which would develop a presidential primary in Texas, no one on the floor of the house chamber seemed to be paying much attention. House Speaker Billy Clayton was about the only member standing still who appeared to be keeping a watchful eye on what xvas poing on.

And he was gtued to his position near the large wooden block he was continually i i with his huge, long-handled gavel to bring some sense of a i a a procedure to the proceedings. THK OTHER members were either lounging in their stuffed desk chairs, flipping idly through stacks of paper on their small legislative desks with nored expressions on their faces, or joking with one another about what, or just walking aimlessly about the house chamber. The fact that meaningful legislation, laws that affect every Texsn, sometimes make their way through the maze of the legislative circus is proof that Iho system does work. But to one a i i a with that system, it seems times (o be nothing short of miraculous. Inquiring Reporter TODAY'S QUESTION: Are you really counting on a tax rebate or just hopeful? KAYE ADAMS, student: No, I'm just not counting on it.

MRS. NOLAN BARNETT, saleslady: I'm just waiting until it gets here. I don't like to count my chickens before they're hatched. EDDIE RATTE. telephone answering service: I hadn't given it any thought because I really don't think its going to get here.

MRS. GERALD BEHNING. housewife: No. Tm not really counting on it, I'll wait until I see it. I don't know hmv much to count on it.

JACK BROWN. Hundley Boat Company employe: I hadn't thought much about it. I know we had to pay this year, bul before we've always gotten some hack..