Money problems may spell end for Campus Loop
By KAREN MCMANIMAN
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
. Because of financial problems, the University
may find future operation of the Campus Bus
Loop Bus System impossible, Richard L.
Crowley, assistant vice president for business
services, said.
. “It appears to be very difficult to attempt to
continue the Campus Loop operation with the in
crease of the deficit, the reluctance of
passengers to pay at least 50 percent of the
operating subsidy and knowing there is no ar
rangement for the replacement of the buses,’’ he
said.
Crowley said even the present fare of 25 cents
does not cover operating expenses of the Campus
Loop Bus System.
“With inflation and rising costs of fuel,
materials, repairs and wages, the deficit has
been rapidly increasing each year,” he said.
"The University subsidy for that deficit in
1979-80 was roughly $98,000 which is only about
half of the actual operation costs,” Ralph E. Zil-'
ly; senior vice president for finance and opera-
Iraq has loose grip
on Iranian port city
By United Press International
Western reporters yesterday visited
the vital Iranian port city of Khurram-
shahr and said the city is under Iraqi
military control, but it is not secure.
The Iraqi army has apparently driven
the last of the Iranian defenders over the
Karun River and can be said to control
Khurramshahr in a military sense, but
they have so far failed to make it safe or
secure from Iranian sniper and mortar
fire from the south bank of the Karun,
opposite the city.
Even as the reporters visited yester-
day, Iran claimed its forces “are in full
control”.of the south bank of the Karun
River, where there are some suburbs of
"Khurramshahr and an Iranian naval
base.
Tehran Radio said Iranian forces “are
holding up the Iraqi advance on the
Khurramshahr-Abadan bridge. ’ ’
From what Western reporters saw,
that statement was true.
• Khurramshahr’s bridge is of crucial
strategic importance to the Iraqi siege of
Abadan, about 9 miles further south and
site of the Middle East’s largest oil
refinery, because it leads onto Abadan
island.
An earlier Iranian broadcast bitterly
deserters fleeing trenches at
the besieged oil capital of Ahvaz, where
an important battle seemed imminent. It
called them “chickenhearted” cowards
who sought to hide “like jackals.”
Military communiques from both
sides yesterday were as contradictory as
ever.
Tehran said it was now “calling on the
Iraqi troops to surrender” outside
Abadan, 9 miles downstream from
Khurramshahr
But Iraq said its forces had thrown up
check-points along roads leading from
the refining center.
* “One vehicle carrying mortar guns
.and light weapons was seized on a check
point where Iraqi forces were checking
cars leaving the besieged oil city of
Abadan,” the official Iraqi News Agency
said.
Iraq said its forces shot down two Ira
nian Phantom jets and killed 64 Iranian
soldiers.
Western reporters who visited Khur
ramshahr, the first such group to be
allowed as far as the Karun River since
the war started Sept. 22, were twice pin
ned down by Iranian sniper fire.
4 The streets of Khurramshahr, littered
with both live and spent ammunition,
bricks and rubble, is a scene of almost
total destruction, the reporters said.
Barely a house has escaped damage in
the artillery beating the city of 100,000
has taken bv both sides.
Sen. Williams indicted for Abscam involvement
NEW YORK (UPI) Sen. Harrison
Williams. D-N.J.. was indicted yester
day on conspiracy aiid bribery charges
in a $lOO million Abscam scheme the
most influential figure accused in the
FBl's undercover probe of political
corruption.
Williams became the second U.S.
senator in 40 years to face felony
dirges while in office.
A federal grand jury charged that
Williams promised to steer federal
military contracts to a Virginia titanium
mine in which he accepted an interest.
Thd indictment said a phony Arab sheik
agreed to lend $lOO million to the mine to
sweeten the deal.
Williams, a 60-year-old liberal
Democrat, was the first senator to be
charged witji corruption since 1974,
vvhen Sen. Edward Gurney, R-Fla., was
indicted on charges that he conspired to
take bribes in the form of campaign con
tributions from Florida builders. He was
acquitted.
The only former senator to be indicted
W ZQZ PATTEE
the
daily
tions, said
The Loop began as a University service in 1974.
Its ridership has increased every year since with
the exception of 1979-80 when the first fare hike
was imposed (from 10 cents to 25 cents). After
the fare hike that Fall Term, ridership decreas
ed by 41 percent, Crowley said.
Ridership tallies for FalC Winter and Spring
terms ’79-80 were 86,117, 153,845, and 117,230
respectively, Crowley said.
Another factor in the Loop’s possible elimina
tion is that many of the buses are showing their
age, Bruce Younkin, foreman of bus operations,
said.
“We have been encountering little problems,
usually with parts,” Younkin said.
He said the buses are in operable condition,
better than a few years ago, because old parts
have been replaced with better components.
“We will, however, be in need of some new
equipment in the near future,” he said.
Zilly said there is nothing in the 1980-81 budget
for new buses.
Crowley said the Loop’s fleet is comprised of
Though the Iraqis are controlling
Khurramshahr, which apparently has
been deserted by all civilians, the city is
a very dangerous place to be.
Snipers were working from across the
river and, apparently, from atop a
modern, bow-shaped bridge in reinforc
ed gray concrete, which the Iraqis
claimed to have captured last Friday.
“There- are only about two or three
snipers up on the bridge,” said an Iraqi
tank commander holed up in an office
building a few yards from the water’s
edge.
“We don’t know what’s over on the
other side,” an Iraqi major said. “We
have not occupied the other side yet.
They (the Iranians) have no transport.
There are only pockets over there. They
have only small arms.”
Despite that claim, mortar fire was
coming in sporadically from the Iranian
held southern bank of the river, where a
small suburb of Khurramshahr and an
Iranian navy base were located.
Khurramshahr lies mainly on the
north bank of the river, at the point that
the Karun flows into the disputed Shatt
al-Arab waterway.
The Iraqis say they are on three sides
of Abadan and are shelling it intensively,
but acknowledge they do not have troops
onto the island where Abadan stands.
Along the port area and in the railroad
yards, Western reporters saw twisted
metal cargo containers littering the
dockside and huge heaps of dust and rub
ble that once were houses.
During the visit, an Iranian mortar
shell exploded on the roof of the building,
causing no casualties but underlining the
point that, while Khurramshar may be
under Iraqi control, it is not secure.
While the reporters were visiting
Khurramshahr yesterday, a group of
hardline members boycotted the Iranian
parliament’s session on the 52 American
hostages causing debate to be postponed
until Sunday amid fears that the ex
tremists might boycott again.
There appeared little hope the
hostages would be freed before Tues
day’s presidential election the an
niversary of their capture in spite of
reports from some Iranian leaders that a
majority of members in Iran’s parlia
ment was in favor of that timetable.
Though a parliamentary majority
162.0 f the 224 occupied seats showed
up yesterday, Iran’s Central News
Bureau said the body was 17 short of*a
quorum which requires 179 of the total
270 seats to be filled. The deputies who
boycotted the session oppose even con
sidering the 362-day-old hostage issue in
the midst of the war with Iraq.
in recent memory was Daniel Brewster,
D-Md., who was charged 11 months after
leaving office with accepting an
unlawful gratuity. He was convicted in
1975 after a 3-year legal battle that went
to the Supreme Court.
If convicted, Williams would face a
maximum penalty of 59 years in prison
and $llO,OOO in fines. Three others also
were charged in the case.
In Washington, Williams, a 22-year
Senate veteran who is tied for 12th in
seniority, declared his innocence in an
appearance before television cameras,
but declined to take- questions from
reporters.
“I am innocent. I did nothing wrong,”
he said, reading from a statement. “A
suggestion was made which was im
proper. It was immediately rejected.
That was the end of that. The facts will
prove my innocence in a court of law
before 12 Americans.”
He said reports on his alleged involve
ment in the Abscam scandal have made
the past nine months "difficult and pain
Collegian
Mrs. Casper
It looks like Jana I)ubis (Itli-animal biology) has just seen a ghost at last night's East Halls Halloween party
7am innocent / did nothing wrong. .. The facts
will prove my innocence in a court of law before 12
Americans.'
ful for me, my wife, my staff and all our
families and friends. ,
“We have held our heads high,”
Williams said. “We have worked hard
for New Jersey and the nation. There is
no reason for this to change.”
Williams' lawyer, George Koelzer,
said he was “fully confident the senator
will be found innocent and will be vin
dicated by the verdict.”
Williams, powerful chairman of the
Labor and Human Resources Commit
tee and a longtime ally of labor, was the
first senator to be indicted in the 2-year
Abscam investigation, in which under
cover FBI agents posed as represen
tatives of the phony Arab sheik seeking
six buses which are valued at approximately
$lOO,OOO each. The estimated replacement cost of
those buses is $140,000 to $150,000 per bus, he
said.
“We will have to continue to repair them until
they are unoperable,” Zilly said.
Zilly said no fare increase is in sight to Kelp
defray the University’s subsidization of the
Loop.
“Everytransit service in the country operates
on some form of subsidization, some even
receive 90 percent federal funding. But, being a
private institution, we must make up the dif
ference ourselves,” Zilly said.
The Loop was introduced in 1972 as a research
project under James H. Miller, director of Public
Transportation Programs for the University.
“We used it more or less as a guinea pig to
determine student interest in such a service,”
Miller said.
Transportation around.campus had long been
a concern of the University, but the town bus ser-
vices said they would not rtin on campus without
a subsidy from the University, Miller said.
Sen. Harrison Williams ; D-N.J.
political favors from public officials. His
case was the most complex and he is ex
pected to be the last member charged.
Six congressmen and 13 others also
have been charged. Reps. Michael
Myers, D-Pa., and John Jenrette, D-S.C.
have been convicted. Myers subsequent
ly was expelled from the House but is
running for re-election.
Williams was indicted just days before
the presidential election, a move
demanded by the Senate Ethics Commit
tee to ensure that “there is no political
hanky panky” that might help influence
the presidential vote in his home state of
New Jersey. He is not up for re-election
himself until 1982.
Buses for the project were leased from Full
ington Bus Co., ’3lO W. Aaron Drive,at a rate of
$5.50 per hour. The first ridership tallies averag
ed 3,000 'per week for Fall Term ’72, 5,800 per
week for Winter Term and 4,800 per week for
Spring Term, Miller said.
“In 1973 the research part of the transportation
project was over, and we could no longer justify
it, so the Loop was discontinued for Fall and
Winter of ’73,” he said.
The Undergraduate Student Government and
Association of Residence Hall Students petition
ed for reiristallation of the service on a full-time
basis, Miller said.
i Crowley said they had been having reliability
and equipment problems with Fullington on the
project and decided not to continue with the
company.
Fullington filed with the Public Utility Com
mission for rights to operate its own buses on
University roads and won those rights, Miller
said.
The University then paid $25,000 to Fullington
for the right to run Univerity-owned buses on
Williams was specifically accused of
bribery, conspiracy and crossing state
lines to further a racketeering
enterprise.
Three other men were charged as ac
complices: Mayor Angelo Errichetti of
Camden, N.J., who was convicted along
with Myers and two others in the first
Abscam trial, and two of the senator’s
friends Alex Feinberg and George Katz.
Another friend, Henry Williams 111 no
relation to the senator was named as
an unindicted co-conspirator.
Williams allegedly received the stock
in August, 1979 as he was about to leave
Kennedy International Airport for a trip
to Europe. The stock was made out in
Feinberg’s name and Feinberg had en
dorsed it, making it negotiable.
At Myers’ trial last August, Thomas
Puccio, who headed the Abscam pro
secution team, accused Williams of
“participating in a crime:”
. Jurors at the Myers’ trial heard a con
versation taped June 28, 1979, in which
Melvin Weinberg, a convicted swindler
15*
Friday, Oct. 31,1980
Vol. 81, N 0.70 30 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University
campus. The Loop was returned to action in
January 1974 with only two twin coaches, which
were purchased by the University, Miller said.
The fare was set at 10 cents.
At the September ’BO Board of Trustees
Meeting, University President John W. Oswald
said the Loop is on a list of 25 to 30 items con
sidered valuable, but which could be cut, wholly
or partially, if a real crisis arose.
The idea of curtailing or eliminating the Loop
was brought up at a Student Advisory Board
meeting earlier in September, where it met firm
opposition from student leaders, said Andy Wein
traub, vice president of USG.
Has there been any further discussion of a
reduction or cancellation move for the Loop?
“We constantly evaluate all our budgets and
operations to assess their value to the students,
faculty and staff. At the present time, the pre
sent schedule is expected to continue for the re
mainder of this school year,” Crowley said.
“With the cost of operations mounting and the
Fleet buses becoming older, a decision must be
made on the future status of the Campus Loop.”
GOP aide
quits post
Reagan adviser
questioned in article
WASHINGTON (UPI) - Richard
Allen, Ronald Reagan’s top foreign
policy adviser, resigned yesterday
because of news reports indicating he us
ed his power during the Nixon ad
ministration to make money for himself.
Reagan, campaigning in New Orleans,
said, “He’s withdrawn so that he will not
be made an issue so that’s all I’m go
ing to say.”
Ed Meese, a top campaign aide, an
nounced Allen’s withdrawal in a state
ment in Washington, saying, “Mr. Allen
continues to have the full confidence of
Ronald Reagan and the campaign
organization.”
Meese said Allen “has withdrawn for
the remaining days of the campaign to
remove this matter as a possible issue in
the campaign.”
Reagan was asked if he still has con
fidence in Allen. “Mr. Meese is a man of
good judgment,” Reagan replied, “and
Mr. Meese feels that way, and he’s look
ed into it.”
It has been reported Allen might be in
line for a key job if Reagan wins the elec
tion possibly the national security i d
viser post now held by Zbignieu
Brzezinski.
Reagan’s press secretary, Lyn Nof
ziger, said Reagan had not asked Allen
to withdraw and had not even talked to
him about the matter. He said he did not
know whether Meese had asked Allen to
step aside.
Asked if Allen might still get a job in a
Reagan administration, Nofziger said,
“I don’t think we’ll go beyond the elec
tion ... on account of we don’t know
what’s going to happen.”
Allen, 44, served under Richard Nixon
as a senior staff member on the National
Security Council, then as deputy assis
tant to the president for international
economic affairs.
At issue are questions raised in the
Wall Street Journal Tuesday indicating
Allen tried to profit from his government
service.
The Journal said it had obtained some
of Allen’s correspondence showing he
leaked secret information about White
House deliberations on export-import
policies to a Japanese business
associate.
The newspaper said the letters made
clear Allen was trying to set up con
sulting contracts with the Japanese
some of which he got after his govern
ment service ended.
The article said even now, Allen gets a
retainer to promote Datsun cars.
and chief Abscam operative, coached
Williams on how to behave when he met
the sheik.
Weinberg: “He’s only interested in
you. You got to tell him how important
you are. Who you are: ‘l’m the man; I’m
the man who’s going to open the door;
I’m the man who’s going to do this and
use my influence and I guarantee this.’
Follow me. All bull. .. He’s not going to
open his mouth. He speaks bad English
and he’s ashamed how he speaks.”
Cool for ghouls
Plenty of sunshine, becoming quite
breezy and slightly milder during the
afternoon with a high of 55. It should be
dry, but chilly tonight with mainly clear
skies and a low of 33. Morning sunshine
tomorrow will give way to cloudiness in
the afternoon. It will remain breezy on
Saturday with cooler temperatures and
a high of 49. Partly cloudy and chilly on
Sunday with a high of only 45.