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Page 2 Viewpoint The Battalion June 8, 1977 Texas A&M University Wednesday Symbol of stability reigns England’s Elizabeth still The Queen By DAVID S. BRODER WASHINGTON — If you are James Reston of the New York Times and you’re moved to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s silver jubilee, you hop the Concorde to London in the morning, chat with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Leader of the Opposition in the afternoon, and file an utterly definitive column on the state of Her Majesty’s realm in plenty of time for a nap before theatre and a late supper with the Times’ London bureau chief, Johnny Apple, at his mansion in Belgravia. If you are not James Reston, however, you have a problem. You must rely on memory and the newspaper morgue clip- pings to shape your thoughts. Be warned, therefore: This is your basic, low-budget production of the Queen’s Jubilee column. This reporter remembers back in the spring of 1953 when, as a soldier on leave, he stood on a sidewalk in London and watched an empty coach clatter by in a rehearsal of the Coronation parade. What an empty ceremony, what an empty institution, he thought. What an empty head he had. In February of 1952, when Elizabeth received word in what was then called “Kenya Colony’’ that the death of her father had made her the Sovereign, Harry Truman was in the White House, Joseph Stalin in the Kremlin and three-fourths of the nations in the United Nations had not yet been formed. But here she is, a quarter-century later and probably only half-way through her reign, a symbol of stability in a world of constant change. Yet she has not been immune from her times. Scandals have touched her minis- ters; divorce, her own family. She has seen the dissolution of the empire, felt in- flation erode the royal budget, watched as the economic and technological travails of her island have prematurely aged the political leaders on whom she leaned. The vast research facilities of this news- paper yield up the information that she is the first British monarch to ride a subway. That is of limited help. More relevant is the fact that when, in 1969, she canceled the traditional Christmas broadcast to her subjects because her advisers had warned of the modern-day danger of television overexposure, more than 20,000 people signed a petition of protest at this depriva- tion in their lives. Even more telling is the fact that when Rene Levesque, the head of the Separatist party in Quebec, was sworn in as premier of that province last November, he un- hesitatingly took the oath of allegiance to the Queen. In an era of political disintegration and personal amorality, Elizabeth II exerts a remarkable grip on the affections of mil- lions, to whom she exhibits a constancy of character, a degree of self-assurance and self-containment they cannot find elsewhere. Even an opponent of the monarchy like Henry Fairlie has written affectingly of her power to preserve the best in the national heritage. The hold she has on people’s hearts is evidenced nowhere more clearly than in this capital of her former colony. In this city of celebrities, Elizabeth is one of the few who literally stops traffic. Last summer, when she was here, men and women whose mere presence can send a ripple through a crowd — Muhammad Ali, John Connally, Barbara Jordan — themselves became part of the crowd that stood, obediently, on tiptoes behind the ropes in the garden of the British embassy to watch her after-dinner promenade. They came — you could not have kept them away — and stood waiting for hours, and went away satisfied, because they know that this was the real thing. They felt a little as Churchill felt when he spoke on the evening of her Corona- tion: “We have had a day which the oldest are proud to have lived to see, and the youngest will remember all their lives. . . Let it not be thought that the age of chivalry belongs to the past.- Here at the summit of our "Worldwide coinmunity is a lady whom we respect because she is her- self. “‘Gracious’ and noble’ are words famil- iar to us all in courtly phrasing,” Sir Winston said. “But tonight they have a new ring in them because we know they are true about the gleaming figure which Providence has brought to us in a time when the present is hard and the future veiled.” Even the Beatles wrote a lyric that “Her Majesty’s a pretty nice girl, so I’m gonna make her mine.” Many of us have come to the same con- clusion, and would be in London to say it, were it not for the slight inconvenience of that Concorde round-trip fare. Mr. Reston is representing us at this meeting. (e) 1977, The Washington Post Com- pany Carter looking like French rerun By Andre Chambraud PARIS — Those of us here in France who observe Jimmy Carter’s populist style remember that our own President Valery Giscard d’Estaing also promoted himself as a “man of the people” when he first took office three years ago. But Giscard’s popularity, which initially soared, has since slipped badly because he has failed to cope with the current French economic crisis. And the prospects are that he will be defeated by a coalition of Socialists and Communists in the next legislative election, scheduled for next year. So, if comparisons can be made on the basis of the French experience, it seems that President Carter might bear in mind that successful public relations are not enough. When he was elected in May 1974 by a narrow margin, Giscard was determined to introduce a new kind of atmosphere to the French Presidency. In contrast to his excessively formal predecessors Charles de Gaulle and Georges Pompidou, he would be relaxed, simple and open. Giscard took John F. Kennedy as his model, and he relied for advice on two Americans —- Joseph Napolitan, a political consultant, and Pierre Salinger, Ken- nedy’s former press secretary and now a writer for a French magazine. Giscard surprised the French from the start with his informality. Just as Carter later walked across Washington following his Inauguration, Giscard shunned a limousine and entered the Elysees Palace, the French President’s residence, on foot after his swearing-in. He revamped the national anthem. La Marseillaise, changing its tempo from that of a military march to a more peaceful tune. He gave frequent press conferences and, unlike de Gaulle who had carefully had questions screened in advance, he dealt with reporters honestly. Once when a prison riot broke out, he went into the jail to see the inmates and hear their com- plaints. Soon Giscard was not only running journalists ragged but confusing his own security guards as he disregarded Presi- dential rules. He would stroll unannounced into a movie theater with his son, or turn up one evening in a restaurant with his daughter. Pie drove his own car, sometimes getting stuck in traffic jams, and one morning he amazed three garbage collectors by invit- ing them to share his breakfast. To dramatize his love for the masses, he ar- ranged to dine once a month in the home of an “average” French citizen. These activities divided the political ex- perts. Some criticized Giscard, saying that his behavior was contrived and artificial. Others congratulated him, contending that he was taking the monarchical tradi- tion out of France’s democracy. But regardless of what the experts thought, the public liked the innovation. In the year after he took office, Giscard’s approval rating rose from 44 percent to 59 percent. Within the past two years, however, the recession has hit France hard. The ranks of the unemployed have swelled to a mil- lion, and inflation has been serious. As a result, the Socialists and Com- munists scored a resounding victory in the recent municipal elections, and the latest surveys indicate that they would take con- Newsmen By LEE ROY LESCHPER JR. Battalion Editor Last Sunday three Dallas newsmen tried to cover a Dallas Teamsters meeting. They received battered faces and smashed equipment for their efforts. Last year an Arizona reporter named Don Bolles started asking questions about business corruption in that state. He died with most of his body horribly torn away by a bomb. What do those two incidents have in common? People. Just ordinary people doing a job. Reporters, despite the "All The Presi- dent’s Men” myth, are not movie stars or heroes or ready-to-take-on-the-whole- world do-gooders. They’re just ordinary people doing a job. Ordinary, that is, if that means working twice as many hours as they get paid for; if that includes hearing complaints long and hard when they mispell a name, but hear- ing nothing when they show a wrong to be righted or a crook to be caged. Ordinary in the sense that they have wives and kids and friends that worry trol of the legislature if another election were held today. At the same time, the surveys disclose that Giscard’s approval rating has dropped to 42 percent. Giscard, meanwhile, has ceased to in- dulge in the sort of “show business” ap- proach that helped his image earlier. In- stead he has taken to writing long and somewhat turgid essays on the evolution of French society. Giscard also displayed a recognition of his own domestic political weakness at the London summit meeting the other day when he refused to attend a dinner be- cause of the presence of Roy Jenkins, the head of the European Economic Commu- nity. Giscard’s gesture was designed to placate French nationalists. Despite the sharp fall in his popularity, Giscard is respected, even by his adver- saries, as sincere and intelligent. And it would be wrong to assert that the pen- chant for public relations that he demon- strated at the beginning of his administra- tion was a mistake. But he and his advisers did commit an error in believing that public relations could be a substitute for sound and realis- tic policies. Looking at Carter, therefore, many French are wondering whether they are seeing a replica of Giscard. The parallel is tempting to draw. (Chambraud writes on political issues for Le Point, the French weekly magazine.) International Writers Service are people about them and too often don’t see them because a story just broke. Rewards? Sure, if you count celebrities met and “free” events attended. And premature gray and ulcers and an addic- tion to days that start at 6 a.m. and don’t stop until 2 a.m. Most members of that beast they serve. The Public, know them only through rumblings of noble traditions and sacred sayings about The First Amendment and Freedom of Speech. Or when that beast discounts them as mind and news mana- gers no more trustworthy than the forever blighted politician. Not one reporter in a hundred ever re- ceives a serious threat against him. Not one in a thousand is ever injured “in the line of duty.” But when one does, it reminds us that we are just ordinary people trying to do an extraordinary job each and every time. How much are they needed? Well, how much do you care about the world you live in? They make the difference between having something you may not care about and having nothing you can care about. Just ordinary people. Special ordinary people. Slouch by Jim Earle yc>AJSS-7~ ..SOI JUST DECIDED TO KEEP MY CLASS NOTES RIGHT HERE. IT WILL COME IN HANDY FOR TESTS, TOO!” Top of the Campus Hill speaks tonight Texas Attorney General John Hill will speak tonight at 8 in the Rudder Center. The Political Forum sponsored lecture is free to the public. Hill has served as the state’s attorney general for four years. Unit* (SPIN nstall < burgu s may , Insu ihristie ristie )St State >r s Last efforts for school finance b& Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and Speaker Bill Clayton are making last efforts to align support for school finance legislation that was not passed during the last sessions of the House and Senate. Gov. Dolph Briscoe has said he will call a special session in mid-July ifHobbyand Clayton can come up with a bill two-thirds of the legislature wil support. Hobby issued a statement yesterday saying he and Clayton will meet with two representatives and two senators this morning to work on the bill. Businessmen question EPA ruling Researchers in Houston are asking for volunteers with respiraton ailments to help them determine if the Environmental Protection Agency is right in saying ozone pollution is a health hazard. The scientists will compare symptoms of asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema sufferers with ozone, pollen and allergen levels to der- termine their effects on breathing. The $1.3 million project is fi- nanced by the Houston Chamber of Commerce, which questions the EPA standards for local air quality. Unit LT GA closed carriers nail. A folks if they tthe d more convc was one. 1 anyth ii ormer ; he post e smal Mrs. 1 ost off a mor: closing e post :a Davis lawyers ask for bond Attorneys for T. Cullen Davis met with a district judge to discuss bond for the Fort Worth millionaire. Davis, 43, will go on trial June 27 for the murder of his stepdaughter last August. He is being held in the Potter County Jail in Amarillo. Shark attacks biologist Marine biologist Dan Baen said he knew there were sharks in the ocean off of Corpus Christi. But he and 13 students and professors waded waist-deep into the water. A 4-foot-long bull shark bit Baen twice on the left wrist slashing 14 tendons in his hand, rupturing his radial artery and severing several nerves. The attack occurred in an area where thousands of sharks gathered last week to feed from shrimp. Most of the sharks left Saturday. Torres case to begin Harris County district Attorney Carol Vance informed a grand jury yesterday he will present evidence this week in the alleged police beating and drowning of a Mexican-American prisoner. A spokes- man said Vance would bring witnesses to the death of Joe Campos Torres Jr., 23, who was arrested in a tavern brawl May 5 and found dead in the Buffalo Bayou May 8. One police officer has been charged and four others fired in connection with the death. 4-H Rou Crafts, 1 Political enter, 7:' CLU Ex. Writing m. Grove M CLU Ex; Free U. 1 m. New Sti adder Th. Student SC, 2 p.i Crafts, S m. Crafts, I m. Aggie All 4tt Rou Grove M Pis No Stopping ships from going bump The Coast Guard has begun testing equipment it hopes will pre- vent chance encounters of big ships and little ships in the Houston Ship Channel. Undergoing tests is a $1.2 million computer and radar system for monitoring traffic in the channel. The computer can sup- ply information on each ship every 15 seconds. WWW IMi ] Thanks a lot, son An Austin policeman checking on a 3-year-old while his partner was giving the child’s father a traffic ticket found the youngster hap- pily playing with a .38 caliber revolver and four bags of marijuana. “My daddy has one just like you, ” the child said as the officer took the pistol. “And he keeps his dope right there. ” He pointed to a paper sack in the front seat which contained 4 plastic bags of marijuana. The father was released on $800 personal bonds. 1 Nation Dean charged with promotion of his wife Two University of New Orleans professors charged a college dean yesterday with mismanaging state funds to promote his wife. The professors told Louisiana State University system officials in a hear- ing that Dean of Science Bill Good promoted his wife, Dr. Mary Good, over more experience teachers. They said teachers who complained have been harassed. Good has denied any wrongdoing. R< The Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the University administration or the Board of Re- gents. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by students as a university and com- munity newspaper. Editorial policy is determined by the editor. LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are subject to being cut to that length or less if longer. The editorial staffreserves the right to edit such letters and does not guarantee to publish any letter. Each letter must be signed, show the address of the writer and list a telephone number for verification. Address correspondence to Letters to the Editor, The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDonald Building, College Station, Texas 77843. Represented nationally by National Educational Adver- tising Services, Inc., New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday from September through May except during exam and holiday periods and the summer, when it is published on Mondays and Wednesdays. Mail subscriptions are $16.75 per semester; $33.25 per school year; $35.00 per full year. All subscriptions subject V __________ to 5% sales tax. Advertising rates furnished on Address: The Battalion, Room 216, Reed McDon^ ing, College Station, Texas 77843. United Press International is entitled exclusive . use for reproduction of all news dispatches credit Rights of reproduction of all other matter herein^ Second-Class postage paid at College Station, T MEMBER Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Editor .......................................................Lee Roy Le# News Editor....................................................Marie H Campus Editor............................................... Glenn- Sports Editor......................................................Paul ^ Copy Editors...................................................... Sandyf Edith Chenault, Rusty Cawley Reporters ................................................... Toumonaw Julie Speights, Sarah E. White, Mary Bedrer Photographers.....................................................Sir** Betsy l1 Bi Hi Student Publications Board: Bob G. Rogers, Cl* Joe Arredondo; Tom Dawsey; Dr. Gary Halter, fl’l W. Hanna; Dr. Charles McCandless; Dr. Clintonb-\ lips; Jerri Ward. Director of Student PuMicationr^ Cooper.
