Former aide
denies selling
WASHINGTON (UPI) Former Nixon
aide Peter Flanigan yesterday denied he
ever engaged in selling ambassadorships
but acknowledged that the White House
promised to sponsor large campaign
contributors for specific jobs.
Flanigan, whose nomination as am
bassador to Spain was strongly opposed by
Sen. Thomas Eagleton, D-Mo., told the
Senate'Foreign Relations Committee
during his confirmation hearing that he
urged Herbert Kalmbach to approach
Ruth Farkas for a large contribution in•
1972, a presidential election year.
Farkas, who gave the Nixon campaign
$250,000, now is Ambassador to Luxem
bourg: Kalmbach is in prison on charges
of corrupt practices in campaign financ
ing.
"I deny the implication•that there was a
commitment to exchange an am
bassadorship for a large contribution by
Mrs. Farkas," Flanigan said.
But he acknowledged he was aware of
campaign funding practices.
"I do know of instances where people
said we will make a contribution or a
larger contribution if you will agree to a
job," he testified. "And in each instance
the answer was, that I know of, we will
certainly put your name forward, we will
EPA clean-up set
WASHINGTON (UPI)
The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA)
yesterday ordered a water
pollution cleanup by most of
the nation's power plants that
will cost $4.1 billion and
eventually raise everyone's
electric bill a little more.
The program is not as
ambitious as originally
proposed by the agency, but
EPA Administrator Russell
E Train said it was sufficient
to "insure the cleanup and
protection of our waters
without requiring the con
sumers of electric power to
shoulder the cost of un
necessary investments."
The rules are designed to
implement the 1972 Clean
Water Act which requires
By 1983 when the program" water polluters to install the
is finished, Train said, it "best practicable" pollution
might increase electric bills control equipment by 1977
by up to 1.5 per cent; but, he and the "best available"
said, "in the perspective of technology by 1983.
the overall amount it does not Yesterday's rules are
seem too significant, in view designed to control both
of the benefits you're get- thermal pollution heated
ting." water discharged after use in
Chairman Dixy'Lee Ray of generating . plants i and
the Atomic Energy Com- chemical dumping from such
mission criticized the EPA installations.
move as it applies to nuclear EPA said , the industry is
On Campus With Your Wes*
Nittany Moll
sponsor you for consideration, and no
more than that."
"It's Kalmbach who is in the peniten
tiary for selling ambassadorships and it's
Flanigan who presumably will go to a posh
post in Europe," said Eagleton. "That Is
not equal justice."
Eagleton. urging the committee to kill
Flanigan's carryover appointment, by
Nixon, said Farkas had donated $250,000,
then turned down an offer for an am
bassadorship to Costa Rica.
Mrs. Farkas told the Nixon ad
ministration "she didn't want to pay
$250,000 for a banana republic," Eagleton
said. "She wanted something in Europe,
she wanted something better." -
Flanigan denied a series of accusations
by Eagleton of improper actions, in
cluding influencing government agencies
on behalf of various corporations. He said
all his actions were taken in the national
interest.
Flanigan was the key man in Washington.
He was the man who, in several knovvg
cases, paved the way with'the agencies b!
government," Eagleton said.
"I have never been a fund raiser,"
Flanigan said. "That doesn't mean that I
did not solicit from particular friends of
mine."
generating plants, saying it
would cost as much as $3
billion to comply and that
environmental pollution from
that source is already under
adequate restraint by the
AEC and state laws:
"The environment will not
be
_further protected in a
significant way. The thermal
releases from these plants
must meet state water quality
standards. This is the wrong
timeand the wrong reason to
spend additional millions of
dollars," she said in a state
ment. •
Steve is wearing . . .
Peter's _fleeced lined
aviator style jacket.
Yes its corduroy and it
comes in green and tan.
Come try us on! $4OOO
Lester's
Formal Rentals 23 7-1477
Nixon
jobs
"The evidence is strong that Peter
already building or planning
to build plants with closed
systems, which do not return
their cooling water to the river
or stream from which it is
taken.
In addition, it said, a
number of older, smaller
plants which were originally
scheduled to be covered by
the new regulations will be
exempt because they will be
gradually phqsed out during
the coming years.
It estimated that 75 per cent
of the nation's generating
capacity will
..,x , equipped
with closed-cycle cooling
systems by 1983.
A provision also was made
exempting those plants which
can .prove that their
discharge of heated water has
no effect on local fishlife.
Another exemption granted
to industry involved the need
to install water cooling
towers. If a plant largely
those in urban areas does
npt •have enough land around
it as determined by a for
mula, it will not have to build
such a tower.
To be refu, ided in income tax return
Sawhill proposes gasoline tax
WASHINGTON (UPI) Federal energy chief
John Sawhill disclosed yesterday he had proposed
to the White House that gasoline consumption be
reduced by imposing a tax that would later be
refunded by the Internal Revenue Service.
He said he suggested to President Ford's advisers
that the "refundable fee" be set at 20 to 30 cents a
gallon with the motorist filing for a refund through
his income tax returns.
"The refund would have to come through the
withholding systerri although other mechanisms
would have to be found to refund to people who are
not part of the tax system; that is those who don't
pay income tax," said the head of the Federal"
Energy Administration.
"In order to really be effective a fee would have to _ people," he „added.
be somewhere in the 20 to 30 cents a gallon s range." He said a straight gasoline tax presents two
As an example, Sawhill said that, if a motorist problems.
drove 10,000 miles a year in a car that got 20 miles "In the first place, in order to really be effective it
per gallon, he would pay a refundable fee of $lOO if has to be quite large," he said. "A small gasoline
the rate was 20 cents a' gallon. 1 tax is really not going to cutback on gasoline con-
He said he has discussed the fee plan, along with sumption by the amount we need to really have a
several other energy' conservation Measures, with credible conservation program.
Ford's "senior advisers." "And secondly, a gasoline tax would work a real
• Sawhill, interviewed on the NBC Today program, hardship on some of the poorer people In our
said he was opposed to a straight, non-refundable society. So any kind of gasoline tax would have to
tax on gasoline.. somehow be coupled with a refunding provision.
"I don't think that a straight taX would make And that's why we've talked about a refundable
sense but Ido think that some kind of a refundable conservation fee, a fee that might be imposed on
fee might make sense because it would help poorer gasdline but would then be refunded..."
The Daily Collegian Thursday, October 3,1974-