House votes delay
of Ford's $3 oil fee
WASHINGTON (UPl)—The House more—will ripple through the economy,
■ oled yesterday to block for 90 days Democrats charge, raising prices of
"resident Ford’s $3 per barrel fee on many products and services such as
mported oil. transportation as well as price hikes at
Ford. anticipating eventual „ the gas pump.
Congressional passageof the delay in his But Ford feels that higher petroleum
price-raising fee, began a campaign to prices are necessary !to force con
assure enough votes to sustain a veto, servation and lessen U.S. dependence on
The vote was 309 to 114, 27 votes more imported oil.
Ilian needed to override a veto. Ffep. A 1 Ullman, D-Ore., chairman of
The delay legislation no\y goes to the Ihe House Ways and Means Committee,
Senate where Finance Committee who tried unsuccessfully to reach a
chairman Russell Long, D-La., is op- compromise with Ford, said Congress
posed to it and where a filibuster against needs the 90-day delay to work out its
it is probable. Eventual passage is own energy program,
likely, however. “It is our intention to move more
Democrais—except for some oil-state
members—supported the delay while
most Republicans opposed it. House
G()P leader John Rhodes, in what ap
peared to be a veiled threat, told his
Republican colleagues, “This is. a very
important vote...for those of us on this
side of the aisle to shape up.”
After the vote, white House press aide
Ron Ncssen said “ihe President is en
couraged. He thinks he has come a long
v\ ay by the size of the vote and will
continue his talks with members of'
Congress” to win support for his
program.
There is every indication Ford con
siders this issue one of the most im
portant showdowns of his presidency.
Administration officials acknowledge
i ha l price increases brought about by
ihe lee hikes probably will add two
percentage points to the rate of inflation,
now about 12 per cent. 1 The higher
petroleum costs —4 cents per gallon or
Simon says slow down
Ford: Economy
By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
President Ford expects the economy to be growing rapidly
m 1976, a spokesman said yesterday. But at the same time,
Treasury Secretary William Ev" Simon warned against a
recovery at “breakneck speed.” c-
In the earlier projections for 1976, White House economists
said the nation's economy would grow 4.8 per cent after two
years of losing ground.
A 4.8 per cent increase in the Gross National Product—the
government’s measurement of total output of goods and
services—is considered by most economists to be a sluggish
rate of growth for a recessionary recovery period.
Historically, the GNP has grown by 7 or 8 per cent following
recessions.
Simon told Congress’ Joint Economic Committee that the
recovery . must be slow to prevent skyrocketing inflation
following the recovery.
He said “some margin of economic slack must remain for a
period of years to ensure that inflation can be squeezed out
gradtiallyi”
Pump priming of the economy at “breakneck speed without
regard to the inflationary consequences’’ would be the wrong
path to follow and would not work, Simon said.
But House Press Secretary Ron Nessen, in explaining
Ford’s resolve to seek re-election in 1976, used terms in
dicating Ford believes the recovery will move at a faster rate
of speed.:
“He expects the inflation rate to come down considerably,
Senate approves, 76 to 8 ,
Food stamp price hike blocked
WASHINGTON (UPl)—The Senate
yesterday gave final Congressional
approval to a bill blocking President
Ford's attempt to raise food stamp
prices at least until the end of the year.
The vote was 76 to 8.
The Senate vote indicated
Congressional sentiment was running
strongly>against attempts to economize
by cutting welfare services, and any
presidential veto seemed sure to be
overridden. The House approved the
same bill Tuesday by a vote of 374 to 39.
Even such conservative senators as
James B. Allen, D-Ala., and Milton R.
Young. R-N.D., supported the bill after it
was disclosed that Alabama’s Gov;
George C. Wallace had appealed foe
quick passage. Allen said Ford’s at
tempt to save-money by slashing the
stamp benefits would “gouge more than
$6OO miliion out of needy food stamp
recipients."
Moving swiftly to head off Ford’s food
stamp order before it could take effect,
the Senate passed the measure and sent
it to the White House hours after it was
approved 11 to 2 in the Agriculture
Committee.
Administration sources said
Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz would
likely advise Ford to sign the bill-*thus
giving up one of his first, attempts to
reduce federal spending—but White
House spokesman declined to predict
what Ford would do.
A White House aide said later
yesterday that Ford was likely to sign
the bill in view of the overwhelming
majorities by which it cleared both
houses. The aide cautioned, however,
that Ford had not personally given any
“firm signal’’ of his plansjor trie bill.
This was the first bill. to cleiar the
newly convened 94th Congress 'and it
seemed to set the tone for confrontation
between the Congress and the White
House on key economic issues.
The bill blocks Ford’s order increasing
BIND.
■■ B wp2
Collegian
j the
daily
rapidly perhaps than we have ever
moved before,” Ullman tqld the House,
promising to begin work on energy taxes
immediately after a pending tax
reduction bill.
The first $1 of Ford’s $3 per barrel
import fee went into effect Saturday, but
its effects will not be felt at the gas pump
until the end of the month when fee
payment become due.
Additional $1 stepups are due March 1
and April 1, meaning that the full
resulting price increase would be in
effect during this summer’s driving
season.
The administration estimates the fee
would cause only about a 4 cents per
gallon increase in petroleum products,
but Congressional staff members say the
figure will be closer to 10 cents.
Rep. A 1 Ullman, D-Ore., chairman of
Ihe House Ways and Means Committee,
said Ford’s fee would create a “ripple of
inflation throughout the economy.” The
food stamp prices, effective March 1, to
30 per cent of each participating family’s
adjusted net income.
It forbids any such increase through
Dec. 31, meaning families will continue
to pay an| average of 23 per cent of in
come for their stamp allotments. On the
current sliding scale«.some families pay
only 5 per! cent and none pay more than
30 per cent.
An estimated 17 million Americans—B
per cent of the population—now use the
stamps to help offset the impact of the
recession. !
By ordering the freeze, the bill gives
Congress time to (consider long-term
changes in the program as part of a
pending omnibus farm-food bill. The
Senate adopted a separate resolution
ordering Butz to present by June 30 his
recommendations for legislation to
lighten loopholes and prevent abuses in
the stamp program.
Ford justified the price hike as a cost
cutting measure to help stem inflation,
saying it could save the government an
estimated $650 million a year.
Ip addition to approving the House bill,
tljp Agriculture Committee also
unanimously approved a resolution
calling for gtudy of abuses in,the stamp
program and possible later legislation to
crack !down on chiselers.
S@iator George S. McGovern, D-S.D.,
said speedy action on the main bill was
vjtal ! because state agencies which
administer the stamp program are
nearing their deadlines for making
administrative changes necessary 4to
carry out Ford’s order. *
McGovern indicated he did not expect
Weather
Periods of light snow today. High 28.
Occasional snow flurries, colder tonight
and tomorrow. Low 21. High 24.
Ways and Means Committee earlier
approved the 90-day delay with
Democrats insisting they needed the
extra time to develop an energy
program of their own.
With Congressional > passage of the
delay almost certain, both sides have
been marshaling votes for the upcoming
veto override vote.
Ford met with 100 Republican
Congressmen Tuesday night and 100
Democratic! Congressmen for breakfast
yesterday morning. A wffite House
spokesman said Ford felt he had picked
upa substantial number of votes, enough
to override a veto. !
Democrats in Congress, in an effort to
avoid inevitable charges of political
blackmail from Ford, decided to reverse
the earlier Ways and Means Committee
decision to attach the oil import fee
delay to a bill increasing the national
debt ceiling from $495 billion to $531
billion through June 30.
The original strategy' 1 was to make the
bill harden for Ford to veto, but it
became obvious that Ford would veto
the bill anyway and then use the
Congressional action as a political club.
The Rules Committee voted
unanimously Tuesday to separate the
two measures' and send them to the floor
as two different bills.-
An oil import bill standing alone also
was considered more likely to weather a
veto override vote. Many members of
Congress would have voted against a
combined bill on the principle that jno
unrelated legislation should be attached
to a debt ceiling bill.
to grow
bnemployment to be down and employment to be going up.
The gross national product is expected to be rising at a very
high rate,” Nessen said. y - ;
Nessen did not explain what growth rate the White House
considers “a very high rate,” but most economists consider
the administration’s earlier projected GNP growth of 4.8 per
cent in 1976 to be slow. 1
- An increase in the GNP would add about 2 million jobs to the
economy but the increase almost .would be canceled out by an
iincrease in the labor force, leaving unemployment at about
where it is now—7.s million persons.
\ Prices on the New York Stock Exchange rose in early
trading yesterday in reaction to the Federal Reserve Bank’s
lowering of the interest rate it charges for loans to com
mercial banks.
, The lower rate was viewed as a sign the FED intends to
■ make more credit available at cheaper prices to help
.stimulate the economy.
‘ In. other developments:
'■ —General Motors’ open-ended layoffs climbed to 121,000
i workers by the end of January, 28,000 more than previously
! announced. The new GM figure pushed indefinite layoffs in the
.auto, industry to 206,750 workers—one-third of the industry’s
: blue collars and almost 100,000 more than were off the job
•. during last winter’s energy crisis'.
| —American Motors, the smallest auto company, said it will
, not pay a dividend to stockholders because of the slump. AMC
said Monday it lost $5.6 million in the last three months of 1974.
Ford to veto the bill when it reaches him
for his signature.
At tfie White House, press secretary
Ron Nessen declined to predict whether
Ford would veto the measure but said
the President is still firmly committed to
reducing federal expenditures such as
the food stamp program.
Ross appeals to Oswald
By LINDA MILLER
Collegian Staff Writer
Undergraduate Student Government Senator
Ross Tuesday appealed to University President John
W. Oswald for review of Ross’s four-term suspension.
The written appeal was submitted to the Office of
Conduct Standards Tuesday, according to secretary
Sue Wible, for delivery to .Oswald yesterday. (Oswald
will have an unlimited amount of time in which to re
view the case, Wible said. |
The written appeal was submitted to the Office of
Conduct Standards Tuesday, according to secretary
Sue Wible, delivery to Oswald yesterday. Oswald will
have an unlimited amount of time in which to review
the case, Wible said. j
The five-page appeal charged the University
disciplinary system with 14 violations of Ross’s rights.
The appeal said Ross was unjustly summarily j
suspended after a Jan. 9 incident at Shields with Col.
(ret.) Elwood Wagner, records officer. Ross was not an
immediate threat to the University community, the
appeal said, although the University later charged him
with simple assault, damage to University property
and disorderly conduct.
The appeal also said Ross’s civil rights were violated
when Thelma Price, assistant vice president for
student affairs, dismissed him from his position as a
Community Awareness aide before a hearing.
The defense was denied access to a copy of the
University Disciplinary Systems Manual, the appeal
said, ariid Ross was unable to present a complete
defense at his Jan. 16 hearing before a Student ponduct
Standards Board.
You can be sure . . .
Furness urges consumers
to work for more change
By LEAH ROZEN
Collegian Staff Writer
Eight years ago, when Betty Furness
was j appointed by President Lyndon
Johnson to head his division on con
sumer affairs, “People didn’t even
realise they were consumers, much less
having affairs.”
All of this changed, she told an
audience of about 350 at her discussion
last |night in Schwab of the problems
facing today’s consumers.
Furness, whose talk was sponsored by
Colltjquy and the Organization of Town
Independent Students, said that eight
years ago consumers were concerned
with “appliances that didn’t run and
pantyhose that did.”
Worries like those now have been
replaced by a largqf one—inflation,
Furness said. “Inflation has cost us a lot
of money,” she said.
She said that besides the actual money
consumers have lost to inflation, there
have been “hidden cqsts" such as
“freedom in the market plape, freedom
of inovement and the freedom to
dream.”
“Most people’s dreams are now
limited to hopes of just holding on,” she
said!
“Inflation and recession are a very
unhappy combination,” Fulness said,
labeling President Ford’s economic
remedies “naive.”
“He’s telling you that you can buy a
car but not to drive it,” she said.
Furness talked about saving energy,
both for the individual consumer and for
industry. She said it was necessary to
save energy so that “we are not
dependent on foreign oil and to cut ex
penses.”
Furness said the individual consumer
could turn a light bulb off. But if after
turning off his lightbulb the consumer
realizes that New York City’s World
Trade Center has only one light switch
for | every floor and that Consolidated
Edison has special low rates for the
building, “(hen I gotta tell you, you’re
tempted to turn your light back on;” she
saifi.
“Rpt you can’t afford to.”
‘ There is no way,.as I seelt, that the
cor sumer can individually turn around
thd energy problem,” Furness said. “To
do our part, we want full insurance that
governmenj-4nd industry will turn off
their light bulbs too.”
Furness said she found it ironic that
her last television commercials for
Westinghouse had her urging the
The board found him guilty of physical abuse and
damage to University property, and recommended the
year’s suspension.
The appeal said a graduate student shown to be
biased was allowed to continue to sit on an Appeals
Board which reviewed Ross’s case Jan. 29. The Ap
peals Board upheld the decisions of the Standards
Board.
The appeal said Ross’s constitutional rights were
infringed upon by his being forced to testify at two
University hearings before his criminal hearing on
Friday.
It said Wagner was given partial treatment by the
University when Ross filed assault charges against
him. ;
• No University action was taken against Wagner.
Charges against Wagner were dismissed Friday in a
preliminary hearing before District Magistrate Clif
ford Yorks. Ross was bound over on $l,OOO bail already
posted in a separate hearing.
The appeal also said some prosecution witnesses’
statements were fabricated and conflicting. It said the
atmospheres of both University hearings were not
conducive to objectivity and frustrated the defense
when it challenged the credibility of witnesses.
The appeal cited Donald Shit, director of the Office of
Conduct Standards, as having “utter contemptfor ‘fair
play’ justice,” and at times acting as an unappointed
member of both hearing boards.
The appeal said both boards desired to punish Ross
for striking a white individual, regardless of whether
Wagner had provoked Ross.
3 COPIES
Thursday, February 6, 1974
Vol. 75. No. 115 8: pages University Park, Pennsylvania
Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University
Ten cents per copy
BETTY FERNESS told a Schwab audience last night that she has
come a long wajfrom doing Westinghouse commercials. Furness,
now a consumer advocate, spoke of the problems facing today's
consumers
American’ public to convert to “total
electric living.” She said her message
had moved from that slogan to “watch
Besides the idea of saving money and
energy by cutting down on electrical use,
Furness discussed the possibilities for
recycling and mass transit.
“Recycling is, by large, not as suc
cessful as it could and should be,”
Furness said. “And the reason for that is
lhat industry doesn’t want it. ;
“Tax laws favor producers of raw
supplies,, and shipping rates also cost
more for recycled materials.”
Furness said the government would
have to interfere to get recycling
moving. “If government and industry do
their part, we’ll certainly do burs,” she
said.
“Mass transit is a fine idea,” she said.
“Why isn’t there more and why isn’t
what we’ve got better?”
“Because of the Highway Trust
Fund,” she replied. “We’ve got; all these
highways, so we get all these beautiful
cars so we get .more highways.
“The consumer cannot build mass
transit. Industry can with prodding from
the government.”
Furness said she had always been
taught in school that “business is in
business to serve the consumer.”
She no longer believes that, she said.
“Business is in business to stay in
business and they must be competitive.
Competition means they don’t always do
the right thing.”
“Business can pay people to protect
them at every government level” with
lawyers, lobbyists and trade
associations, she said. “Consumer
advocates can’t afford these lawyers so
it is harder to get his or her voice heard.
“We have been fighting for a national
consumer protection agency for five
years now. Not a vast office, just a very
plan,” Furness said.
"People in this office would represent
the consumer when decisions are being
made that affect them by federal
regulatory agencies,” she said.
Such an agency would have been
useful when the Coca-Cola manufac
turers got the government to agree that
-they did not have to list all of theic
ingredients on their labels, including
caffeine, she said.
“Cola is a code word for caffeine,”
Furness said, “because they knew
damned well that zf mother who wouldn’t
give her kid a cup of coffee wouldn’t give
him Coke if it said it had caffeine.”
STATE COLLEGE
PA, 16301
opoiitt tm.ift
Furness is working for WNBC-TV in
New York City as a consumer-affairs
reporter. During the two-hour daily
broadcasts, she does two five-minute
segments. In one, she answers letters
sent to her with consumer complaints
(she gets 1,000 a week). In the second
segment, she goes out into the city to
investigate complaints.
“I am allowed, within the context of
the news program, to say whatever I
want to,” she said. "I’ll start out with
‘Bank Americard has done it again,’ and
then I explaia-what they've done again. ”
Boycotting products can be an ef
fective method for consumers, Furness
said. She urged the audience, if it in
tended to boycott a product, to “write
and say goodby£. I urge you to writp to
its maker. If enough people do that, he'll
understand.”
The best thing about the 1973 meat
boycott wats ‘ ‘the women who came out of
it. They were marvelous,” Furness said.
The most valuable lesson learned in
the meat boycott was that, “If you want
to affect the price of an industry, you’ve
got to learn about the industry,” she
said.
About the recent rise in sugar prices.
Furness said. “People have stopped
buying sugar. The prices won’t go down,
but at least people aren't spending their
money on it." {
Consumers must organize. Furness
said. "I urge you, as strongly as 1 can
urge you to'do anything, to get that
PIRG (Public Interest Research Group)
group started here. Nothing could be
more powerful,” she said.
Consumer affairs has a start with
required ingredient labels, clothing
labels and unit pricing. Furness said.
Furness said-consumers should begin
focusing on issues like antitrust suits and
price fixing.
“We must not abandon consumer
protection under the guise of saving
money,” she said. “The rich are spend
ing money as if there’s no tomorrow
“The middle class is last becoming t|.?
lower class and families are slippn g
under the poverty line quickly.”
She said she expects prices will con
tinue to rise and people will be "working
lor necessities.”
“I can’t tell you what's going to
happen." Furness said.
During the question-and-answer
period, Furness was asked what kind of
car she drives.
"A Mercedes because I'm rich and I'm
a snob," she shot back quickly.
“In essertce, I believe that perhaps both Mr. Wagner
and myself were guilty of blatant errors in judgment.
However, my error has endangered my future, while
the proven errors of Mr. Wagner have cost him only
some temporary physical discomfort," Ross said in the
appeal.
The appeal said Ross was forced to withdraw his
three-year-old son from school because of financial
difficulty due to legal expenses and loss of his job and
educational aid. The appeal said the financial burden
on Ross’s wife may be severely trying upon their
marriage in the long run.
The appeal said Ross would like to meet with Oswald
to discuss Ross’s side of the story. Oswald has the
option of calling Ross to testify.
Ross said he and four of his friends composed the
appeal, “f feel that the appeal is well-written,” he said.
“A lot of time and research went into it.”
j A Religious Studies 5 class delivered a class letter,
along with 15 personal letters, to Oswald yesterday to
express their concern for Ross’s situation.
"We are asking for a re-evaluation of the
proceedings and judgment against Ross and implore
you to exercise your prerogative in seeing that justice
is tempered with mercy,” the class letter read.
The entire class delivered the letters to Oswald’s
office and copies of the class letter were mailed to
Ross, Suit and Wagner.
Roslyn Glazerman, assistant professor of religious
studies, said her students are studying the nature of
man. She Said the Ross case seemed relevant to class
material./
Phofos by Jim Caprto