Degree study dis University President John W. Oswald discusses the future possibility of elimin ating undetermined undergraduate and graduate degree programs at a meeting of the Penn State Veteran's Organization. Rich Dapprich. vet's first vice presi dent, is seated behind Oswald. Bankrupt rail lines reorganize WASHINGTON (UPI) Seven bankrupt railroads went out of existence as separate lines today and into a government-planned corporation ' pledged to make them one paying .concern, The Penn Central and six other bankrupt lines were taken over at one minute past midnight EST by Conßail, under whose aegis they became a trimmed-down system. It was the largest corporate reorganization in the nation's history. There was no interruption of freight, passenger or commuter service. Hun dreds of freight cars travelled last night one minute cars of the bankrupt ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, 111. (UPI) Truckers began .to pull their rigs off the road in scattered eastern cities at midnight EST today starting the first nationwide Teamsters strike in history: There was indication many drivers would continue to work under temporary agreements. . Labor Secretary W.J. Usery worked nonstop with negotiators for the Teamsters union and the trucking industry in suburban Arlington Heights in an effort to halt the walkout by 400,000 Teamsters, scheduled for midnight local time across the nation. The situation was complicated by calls for wildcat walkouts where the strike deadline was yet to arrive. Commercial Motor Freight in Columbus, Ohio, said drivers went on strike at midnight EST. A Teamsters official said truckers also were reported on strike in Detroit and Manhattan. Chicago area Teamsters officials advised local union members, who are not directly covered by the national pact„to keep working while Reagan blasts Ford WASHINGTON ( UPI) Ronald Reagan harshly attacked President Ford's domestic and foreign policies in a nationwide television address yesterday that .marked a sharp shift in his cam paign strategy for the Republican presidential nomination. Reagan said that because of Ford's foreign policy "our nation is in danger, and the danger grows greater with each passing day:" And he charged that Ford's claims of a solid economic recovery echoed the claims made before the 1972 election and added "Then, the roof fell in." Reagan's 30-" minute speech, taped by NBC at an estimated cost of about $lOO,OOO, was a composite of the in creasingly tough attacks that the former California governor mounted against Ford in recent:primaries. , But the speech raised no major new issues nor did it give any indication of Reagan's future campaign plans. Pennsy and other lines, the next they were Conßail cars. Little immediate change was expected except for the shutdown of some repair shops and the abandonment of 2,800 miles of track, most of it lightly used branch line. . • Because some of the abandoned lines already had ceased operation, a final count showed 2,034 miles of track that carried trains yesterday would not be in business today. The Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conßail) was created to rehabilitate most of the lines of the bankrupt Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley, Jersey Central, Reading, Lehigh and Hudson River, and Ann. Arbor railroads. The corporation will run a 17,000 mile system from the eastern seaboard to the Missouri River and from southern Canada to the Ohio River. It also will operate trains over 3,100 miles of line that states chose to receive federal subsidies. ' It will. handle one-fourth of U.S. rail traffic and employ 97,000 workers. ' Truckers strike set they attempted to work out interim contract agfeements. One official said he expected 80 per cent of the 40,000 Chicago area truckers to work under interim agreements. The strike loomed as a potential crippling blow to the nation's recovering economy. The Teamsters involved haul 60 per cent of the nation's manufactured goods and the trucks are considered an extension of the auto industry's assembly line. Industry officials say assembly lines will halt within the week if the strike persists. • President Ford ' monitored the situation closely and a Labor Department source said the President will declare a national emergency and seek an 80-day cooling-off period under the Taft- Hartley injunction. . The union, bargaining in Chicago on a national master freight agreement, last night sent out word to local leaders to negotiate their own local contracts or "shut 'em down by midnight." A Teamster spokesman told UPI "some employers reportedly And despite his well-known financial straits the campaign is believed to be about half . a million dollars in debt Reagan made no open plea for money to keep his conservative crusade on the road. , . Ford's campaign committee issued a statement which said "this is former governor Reagan's basic stump speech. There is nothing new in it, nothing that hasn't already been repudiated by the majority of Republican voters. "The American voter can clearly perceive the difference between this type of negative rhetoric and the positive record of President Ford in leading the nation toward economic recovery at home and peace-through-strength abroad." Reagan said there has been an effort made "to suggest that there aren't any real differences between Mr. Ford and myself. I believe there are and these differences are fundamental. "One of them has to do with our ap proach.to government. Before Richard Nixon appointed him vice president, Mr. Ford was a congressman for 25 years. His concern was for the welfare of his congression'al district. For most of his adult life he has been a part of the Washington establishment." 4. 0 4111011 the daily Oswald warns PSU veterans :udget cuts may By MARK GRIFFITH Collegian Staff Writer Future reductions in the University budget may have to be carried out by the elimination of present degree programs, said University President John W. Oswald at last night's meeting of the Penn State Veteran's Organization (PSUVO) : Oswald said that a review of all un dergraduate and graduate degree programs, which will assess both the quality of each program and the value of that program to the University, is presently under way and will be com pleted in about two years. When finished, he said, the review will be used to determine which majors would be eliminated if the University is forced to cut its budget in the future. Presently, said Oswald, budget cuts are carried out by trimming the budgets of all departments, with partial funds returned to the neediest' offices. However, he added, this practice is deeply cutting into many departments' Budget bill voted down by House HARRISBURG (AP) A $4.7 billion general state budget was voted down yesterday by the House.' - The measure was rejected in a 88-81 vote late last night following a marathon session. Although the bill was defeated it was expected there would be another vote. House Majority Leader K. Leroy, Irvis said the reconsideration vote would come "as early as tomorrow morning, as late as June 29." Thirteen Democrats joined solid Republican opposition to the budget in last • night's defeat, but many other lawmakers had left the chamber by the time the vote was taken. Many Republicans attacked the Democrats for moving the budget so quickly. They said they had only one day to study the massive proposal. , , Minority. Leader Robert Butera , at tacked the method in which the proposed have signed interim agreements." Teamster officials from Penn sylvania and Oklahoma said . locals were advised throughout the nation to seek a local settlement with their individual employers outside the mas ter agreement. As the deadline neared, truck depots in Chicago reported vehicles were coming in and going out empty an indication drivers expected a strike. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Milton Shapp said all National Guard per;- sonnel have been told they may be ordered to report for duty in event of a strike. Shapp said the guardsmen would be used to keep the peace and deliver essential supplies. All Pennsylvania State Polcie troop commanders also were alerted. A prolonged strike could have devastating effects. The Department of Transportation compiled some "very rough" figures and concluded the immediate effect in the trucking industry alone would be to idle 1 million workers and cause a loss of $3OO million a week. Speedy Lebanon BEIRUT, Lebanon (UPI) 2 -- Leftist Socialist leader Kamal Jumblatt yesterday said growing indications of a new cease-fire in Lebanon were in the making. But he killed hopes of an im mediate peace by saying "nothing has been decided yet." Former Premier Saeb Salam con ferred with Jumblatt earlier in the day and predicted that a truce was im minent. He was summoned to Damascus for urgent consultations with Syrian President Hafez Assad and was ex pected to leave today. The fierce fighting that has hit Beirut and the countryside for 11 months tapered off yesterday to occasional bursts of machinegun and mortar fire after the fierce fighting over the past 24 hours which left more than 110 dead and 181 wounded. During the day Jumbaltt hinted he may be willing to accept a cease-fire if it meant averting an invasion by Syria. Reports from Damascus said Syria had massed 17,000 troops at the frontier and was ready to move in and impose a truce if its mediation efforts failed. " "The military war may have ended but the political war is continuing," Jumblatt Isaid. The comment marked a significant softening in Jumblatt's hardline stand that the war would not end until Lebanon's Maronite Christians Thursday. April 1. 1976 Vol. 76. No. 142 12 pages budgets and may not be feasible in the future. Therefore, he said, although he does not want to do it, some majors might have to be closed to new entrants, which would effectively eliminate the major while allowing students presently enrolled in that program to obtain their desired degree. This elimination of degree programs, Oswald said, "is going to create all kinds of hell." In the area of veterans affairs, Oswald said that administration attitudes towards veterans in Washington, D.C., are more negative this year than they have been in the past three or four years. Oswald pointed out that the ad ministration has requested that no money be appropriated for the Veterans Cost of Instruction Program ( VCIP) for fiscal 1977, and that the $24 million ap propriated for 1976 be rescinded. The zero appropriations request is made by the administration each year, but Congress usually allots the VCIP $25 to $3O million annually, he said. budget was prepared by Gov. Shapp and Democratic leaders in the legislature. The Senate passed its version last week. "It's phony . . . although very few people in this House know where it's phony specifically," Butera said during a 30-minute speech. "It's all done in secret. This approach to a budget guarantees disaster down the road," he said. Even though final approval is still to come, the new budget moved at light ning speed compared with past years. The 1975-76 budget won final approval on June 25, 1975, just five days before the start of the fiscal year. . Democrats said the 1976-77 budget is balanced, holds the line on spending and will require no new taxes. Republicans said a deficit is hidden in the proposal. Both the House and Senate refused to go along with,Grov. Shapp's request for a nickel-a-pack increase in the cigarette Voting light in USG race By MARTY SMITH Collegian Staff Writer Voter turnout for the Undergraduate Student Government elections is lagging slightly behind that of last year's election, with just over 3,150 votes cast yesterday. Bad weather was blamed for the poor turnout at the polls, in which only 10 per cent of the student body voted. Elections officials said they expect an additional 2,000 students to come out today, the final day of the elections. John Arndt, assistant elections commissioner, said the turnout will be lower today because "students who have it set in their minds that they'll vote, vote on the first day." Lines at the polls, which open at 9 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., were minimal, with the peak hours coming at mealtimes. Among the dorm areas, East Halls had the highest votOr turnout, with Centre Halls registering the lowest total. Over 600 of the votes cast were write ins, with a significant number coming from West Halls, where candidates Sharon Kelly and Audrey Weinberg live. Of the 291 votes cast in West Halls, 120 were write-ins. A high percentage of write-ins was had been decisively defeated on the battlefield as well as in the political arena. Reports circulated in United Nations diplomatic circles that terms of a truce had been worked out and that President Suleiman Franjieh had agreed to resign once a new president is elected. Arab diplomats held urgent, private con ferences to discuss the situation. The United States became openly involved in the Lebanese crisis for the first time yesterday when it sent Ambassador Dean Brown to Beirut. However, diplomatic sources said, his mediation efforts probably would be limited to talks with Syrian officials and Lebanese Christians because of poor U.S. relations with the leftist Moslems in Beirut. He was to see Franjieh today. With rumors of a truce filling the air, Jumblatt conferred with hig leftist allies in Beirut last night and afterwards told reporters there would be no agreement on a cease-fire that evening. "Don't 'be in a hurry for it," he said. "Nothing has been decided yet." His leftist followers said whether there is a cease-fire or not "depends on the strength of the assurances we get.' One source said it was no longer a question of whether Franjieh would resign but how and when. close programs The VCIP is a federal program which pays any college or university par ticipating in the program a fixed amount for each vet enrolled, which is used towards the cost of maintaining vets programs, such as the Veterans' Counselor and the Veterans' Coordinator in the Penn State Student Assistance Office. Oswald said he supports both the continuation of the VCIP and the ex tension of the veterans' delimiting date, which is the date on which a vet's educational assistance benefits expire. The delimiting date presently occurs ten years after a vet is discharged. Oswald added that he has taken no stand on the continuation of the present GI Bill or the creation of a new bill, and Was interested in. the opinions of veterans on the subject. Four of the five vets speaking from the audience com mented in favor of keeping the GI Bill as a recruiting inducement. Commenting on PSUVO's letter campaign to congressmen in estimated $47 million in revenue. The Senate also cut $16.4 million from Shapp's plan and made another $32 million available by shifting leftover funds from this fiscal year. The House version eliminated the carryover provision and chopped another $31.4 million from proposed expenditures. ' Major items cut from the Senate version include $19.9 million in cash grants for welfare recipients, $6.8 million in basic education subsidies, $3.2 million for pupil transportation and $3.1 million for prisons. Items increased by the House included $14.3 million for county health depart ments, double the figure in both the Shapp and Senate versions; $lO million for local Bicentennial spending, double the Shapp request; and $l2 million in aid to private colleges , and -schools, also double the Shapp request. also registered in the town area, reportedly because there were only 12 candidates for 16 Senate seats. Al Leard, USG vice presidential candidate, said that there was a low turnout for the Glazier-Leard ticket in areas where their support is con centrated. These areas are North, Centre and Pollock Halls, in addition to the fraternities, according to Rick Glazier. Leard said he planned to be more assertive today and conducted a telephone rally last night to gather additional support. Dave Hickton, another USG vice presidential hopeful, was pleased with the results of yesterday's turnout, add ing that many of the Williams-Hickton supporters have yet to cast their ballots. Hickton feels that the high turnout in East Halls will be to their advantage. "If we come out even in East it will be a victory in itself," he said. Hickton pointed out that Glazier and Leard have spent more time in East Halls and at the fraternities and that their support is strong in those areas. Hickton said his ticket has strong sup port from the town area and that he was relieved when the polls at Willard were cease-fire unsure "The timing is pretty much up to Jumblatt," the source said. Lebanon's top Christian and Moslem spiritual leaders appealed last night to all warring factions for an immediate cease-tire to enable the Lebanese parliament to resolve the political crisis. The separate appeals were made by Patriarch Marc Antonious Boutros Khreish of the Christian Maronites and by Sheikh Hassan Khaled, the Mufti of the Moslem Sunnis, and broadcast several times over Beirut radio. Units of the U.S. 6th Fleet, including a helicopter carrier, were reported steaming off the Lebanese coast but with the situation easing no plans for the evacuation of the 3,500 Americans in Lebanon appeared imminent. Brown, an evacuation expert who organized the American withdrawal from Saigon, was called out of retirement by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, to work for a truce. Brown scheduled meetings with House speaker Kamal Assad and President Suleiman Franjieh, a Christian who has resisted Moslem demands for his resignation. An embassy spokesman said Brown also would meet with other leaders in the conflict. A Navy source in London said §hips off the coast carried "everything from blankets to baby bottles" in case they University Park. Pennsylvania Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University • Ten cents per copy Washington to maintain and increase vets' benefits, Oswald said that the letters must be personal, for the people in Congress pay more attention to those letters which are original than to those which are basically form letters. In other action last night, PSUVO voted 25-8, with seven abstentions, to endorse W.T. Williams, PSUVO member, for the position of USG president. The vet's only newsletter for the term will be released on April 15, and will contain important financial information for vets. The announcement was made that, unlike previous years, both Basic Educational Opportunity Grant and Pennsylvania Higher' Education Assistance Agency applications must be submitted by May 1 for those vets wishing to receive assistance. The next PSUVO meeting will be held at the Vets' House, 227 E. Nittany Ave., at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aprill4. One of the most heated and prolonged exchanges during debate on the budget had little to do with the budget itself. Rep. Patrick Gleason, R-Cambria, offered an amendment that would ban the use of taxpayer's money to pay the defense costs of state officials charged with crimes. The proposal stemmed from a recent Shapp administration decision to pay such defense fees. 'Democrats managed to narrowly defeat the amendment, but only after Republicans scored a series of political points. "I hope every Democrat in this House votes against this amendment, and then I want to see you justify that vote later on," said Minority Leader Robert Butera. Rep. James J. Gallen, R-Berks, noted the Shapp regulation seemed designed to benefit lawyers as well as indicted state officials. opened Joe Augustine said he spent the 'day running back and forth between the HUB and Willard polls. Augustine said he asked students to vote rather than asking them to consider his particular platform. He said he told them to read all the platforms before making their decision. Augustine said that student apathy may he the result of the editorial comment in yestertlay's Daily Collegian, which may have discouraged voter participation. Audrey Weinberg, write-in candidate for USG vice president said she was enthused about the number of write-in ballots that were cast. "I understand there were a lot of paper ballots cast, whether they were for us (Weinberg-Kelly) we can't say," she said. Sharon Kelly said the students have shown a lot of interest in their campaign. She said they plan to campaign heavily in East Halls today. The New Democratic Coalition en dorsed W.T. Williams last night because the ticket makes "a strong statement in favor of the student vote in the State College area ." , ,had to evacuate the 1,950 Americans still in Beirut. U.S. Embassy sources said they would not order evacuation unless the airport closed completely. In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said there were no immediate plans to evacuate Americans. Rumsfeld said Brown's main mission was to help achieve a cease-fire to bring Lebanon "some weeks and months of peace." Brown said on his arrival his mission was "to let President Ford know what I think is going on in Lebanon." He said he was not here as a mediator but "more as an analyst, an assessor and a proposer of possible options." • Asked it his talks would include Palestinian guerrilla leaders, Brown said, "I have no instructions on that, we will have to see how that works out." This is no joke, April showers will probably turn to March snow showers before ending. Cloudy, damp and miserable today with rain tapering to showers by evening. High 45. Cloudy. breezy and cold tonight with a few snow flurries. Low 32. Variable cloudiness and cool tomorrow. High 45. Weather
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