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Show A? anama Canal. r- - JACK RflDGRSOn WITH LES WHITTEN ,, V. x v X V'x4 ' ? tV;CV s - '- x '' .V 3Ts V,f .,sx,x "'sV''l i S" V .. v XN . x W - USWMm v x ' ix I x X x J " ' . St , j svVV,Al ! Joa - N ' KS' ss jpS wwrtf W I 4 . VsWf r' v -- SlfS" Crackdown begins on student loan ft deadbeats WASHINGTON The government is cracking down en (80,000 Americans who have failed to pay back their student loans Ironically, thousands of these deadbeats have used their government-financeeducation to land jobs with federal bin caucractes Health. Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph Calif ano is considering whether to hire debt collecton agencies to recoup the more than $900 million Jh outstanding loan payments This is the first concerted effort by the government to collect the taxpayers money on these bad loans Califano doesnt like the idea of hiring private debt collectors, but he thinks it is better than creating another government bureaucracy to pursue the delinquents J1. Within a few days, Califano will feed the nameqf the debtors, including those who work for Uncle Sam, into an HEW' computer He will send them collection letters as the first step Already, the HEW chief has discovered over 300 workers in his own department w ho have defaulted on their student loans J For years, no one has bothered to pursue the 080 000 The lending institutions failed to vigorously chase them down because the leaps And Jhe were guaranteed by the goveniment bureaucrats were content to issue an occasional . press release bemoaning the lack of repayment. Footnote: HEW once launched a probe mto fraudulent schools that were pocketing money frofn students who never went to class, but it petered out after a few token cases were prosecuted PROLIFERATION POLITICSPresident Carter came mto the White House as an apostle of He has startled some of his nudoar friends on Capitol Hill, therefore, by maneuvering behind the scenes to water down legislation that would curtail the spread of nuclear arms. For years, the United States has sought to export its nuclear technology for peaceful purposes without, at the same time, giving foreign lands the ingredients for a nuclear arsenal. At last, a formula was worked out earlier this year by Sens. John Glenn, ll Jacob Javits, , Charles Percy, , and with Rep Jonathan Abraham Ribicoff, Bingham, D-- Y They pieced together legislation that would set Up guidelines some immediately, others effective in 18 months, which would cut off U S nuclear exports to nations developing nuclear weapons. The bill would make it mandatory to halt nuclear shipments to any country that diverted nuclear material to weapons, conducted nuclear weapons tests, failed to provide adequate security for U S supplied material or disregarded other safeguards Carter called for many of these same measures during his presidential campaign. The bills backers, therefore, expected to have his support But they didn t reckon with Energy Secretary James Schlesmger, who persuaded the President to offer his own legislation. Schlesmger came out of the old Atomic Energy Commission where he developed into an advocate and apologist for nuclear energy. Parts of the measure he pushed upon the President, indeed, might well have been written by the nuclear industry, which stands to make billions from U S export of nuclear technology and materials. The Schlesmger bill, which was quietly drafted by his staff, would substitute vague goals m place of mandatory controls Both Schlesmger and the State Department dispatched lobbyists to Capitol Hill to measure and to kill the push the watered-dow- n stronger legislation The lobbyists mcluded such big guns as Joseph Nye, Louis Nosenzo and Gerard Smoth One referred contemptuously to the tough bill with its cut-of- f guillotine. After provision, as the one grimly polite session with Senate staff members, the lobbyists also implied that the President might veto any legislation that went too far to suit him The White House persuaders were joined by lobbyists from Westinghouse, General Electric and the American Nuclear Energy Council, an industrial trade group Westinghouse alone fielded a full team of lobbyists on Capitol Hill With the White House and nuclear industry working in tandem, members of the key Senate committees began to buckle Sens James McClure, Pete Dominici, R-- M , Cliff Hansen, C , quickly sided R Wyo , and Strom Thurmond, with the industry But Sens Frank Church, and Richard Stone, D Fla , also joined the conserva tne Republicans to weaken the bill Now the tattered bill, which passed the IIouseiijit stronger version is on its way to the full Senate d Wk., & y $f S . . v ' j ? i:i i' s.- ' JS v v x t ?v 'v "Li ",' IAa I'mH ' "' ' -s - - V- ' X1 " 'h v'J t s -- i ;.;, - 2 t- v . ' t j. H" sis.s-v- $ 1 )- - ? mK ,-- t !'- -. i I j ,vUI x" x 1 - s ya ixUT a $ ' " v - H .i tkS x , a jrj WV ii i ,.a8&.4-. J lj "Il A ship passes through X - - Vv x xX' ,xX - - f i & 'i x debt-skippe- UPl photo the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. Treaty advocates question the canal's commercial value. and con pro Americans clash over what treaties will do By Congressional Quarterly WASHINGTON The battle lines are drawn on the Panama - Canal treaties After weeks of hearings, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee knows where leading indi viduals and groups stand on the canal issue one of the most emotional of modern times Now the committee must decide what recommendations it wants to make before sending the controversy to the Senate for a vote next year No matter what approach the panel takes adding amendments or sending the agreements along unit is clear from the changed hearings that major differences will keep the issue alive until the final vote is cast The Carter administration argues that Taylor maintains that agents sent m as hired ratification of the treaties will be the single troublemakers, controlled by Havana or most positive action taken by the United Moscow would be likely if U S Panamanian States in recent years to advance relations relations faltered as a result of the Senates with Latin America. rejecting the pacts If the Senate rejects the treaties, warns The best way to safeguard the canal is Secretary of State Cyrus R Vance, our through a cooperative effort with a friendly relations with Panama would be shattered, Panama rather than by a U S garrison amid our standing in Latin America damaged hostile surroundings, says Secretary of immeasurably, and the security of the canal Defense Harold Brown. itself placed in jeopardy. Adds Sen Clifford P. Case, R-- J , a Gen. Maxwell member of Foreign Relations. A basic fact Former military leaders which has to be dealt with is the canals Taylor and Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. argue that if the United States does not vulnerability. . . If we vote to keep the canal approve the agreements, the Soviet Union and ours in the 1903 treaty (sense), could we end Cuba will reap political advantages in Latm up with a Pyrrhic victory in the form of a America There will be a lot of cheers m useless ditch? Moscow and Havana, Zumwalt predicts Treaty backers also contend that the Taylor and other treaty backers think the commercial value of the canal has diminished canal will be a frequent target of sabotage and considerably as world commerce and shipping terrorism if the treaties are not approv patterns changed 7 other treaties rejected by Senate By Robert J. Wagman If WASHLNGTON (NANA) the Senate refuses to ratify the - already signed twin Panama Canal treaties, it will mark the 18th time in our nations history that the upper house refused to honor a presidents signature While the failure to ratify a treaty is rather common, it is not very often that a president has risked signing one not knowing whether the Senate will approve the document President Carter, however, went one better. He had a grand signing ceremony in Washington last month knowing full well that the treaties were in deep trouble on Capitol Hill Most in the Senate believe the elaborate event was staged to put pressure on them to go along with the treaues They say the President should have checked the history books first before putting his name on the documents and his neck on the line The first president who failed m such a move was James Monroe in 1824 He signed a treaty with Columbia limiting the slave trade only to find that his Southern-dominate- d Senate was not in the mood to limit the slave 200-ye- trade. The last president this happened to was Dwight Eisenhower, who saw a SEATO treaty turned down by the Senate m 1954 Eisenhower, however, recouped his loss He consulted with the Senate, made a few revisions it wanted, resubmitted the treaty the following year and saw it approved with little trouble The most famous and most serious incident of a signed treaty not being ratified was the Treaty of Versailles which Woodrow Wilson signed to end World War I and which contained the provision creating the League of Nations Wilson ended up touring the nation to pressure Congress but it failed and the president, already a frail man, was now a broken man, too Most of the incidents were not nearly this serious, with many of the unapproved treaties dealing with limited claims matters One senous failure, at least temporarily, came in 1844 when the Senate refused to accept President Tylers signed treaty for the annexation of Texas Franklin Inree presidents D Roosevelt. James Buchanan each saw and Andrew Johnson two of their signed treaties rejected FDRs rejected pacts were a consular treaty with Lithuania and a claims treaty with Norway Among the others being rejected were a Mexican claims treaty signed in 1882 by President Chester Arthur, a property nghts treaty President Andrew Jackson approved with Switzerland and a British mutual arbitration pact signed in 1897 by President Grover Cleveland Even Millard Filmore was not exempt from this embarrass ment In 1854, the Senate refused to accept a treaty he negotiated with Japan setting up trade nghts the agreements to other Western Hemisphere nations These are among the major issues the Foreign Relations Committee must consider as it ponders the question Should the Panama Canal treaties be ratified9 But treaty opponents argue that 98 percent since about 13 percent of their gross national Navys ships can easily transit the canal product is canal related and that the alternative going around Cape The treaty critics do concede that there is 0 would add 8,000 miles, Horn days and some risk of violence in rejecting the pacts, considerable costs to naval operations but this risk, they say, is much less than if the R-Sen. Strom Thurmond, C , a vocal United States took the chance of one day opponent, disagrees with the Carter admnust-ration- s finding it necessary to send troops to protect contention that the canal is losing its the canal or Panama ally itself with the commercial importance He points out that in Soviet Union seeing or Cuba 1975 about 14,000 ships passed through the Do not be surprised, if this treaty is canal, about 8,000 of them sailing to or from the United States ratified in its present form, to see a Soviet andor Cuban presence quickly established in These figures are more important-thathose cited by the administration, treaty Panama, Adm Thomas N Moorer, former opponents claim, because the United States chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the for legal and financial reasons has a very Foreign Relations Committee. small merchant marine, and shipping firms The support among Latin American rely heavily on foreign freighters nations for these treaties is not nearly as As for the prediction of violence should the widespread as believed, the American Conpacts be rejected, opponents say the Panama- servative Unions legislative director, Gary L nians would want to prevent acts of sabotage Jarmm, told the committee of the -- 7 Carter administration officials and treaty opponents continue to clash over the commerual and military value of the canal, the likelihood of Soviet or Cuban intervention should the pacts be rejected b the Senate and the importance of 25-3- S Carter opposition weakens will U.S. lacks moral force to fight a guerrilla war By Ernest Cuneo North American Newspaper Alliance A major factor for tho Senate WASHINGTON to consider before deciding against the twin Panama Canal treaties is that the United States cannot exert the force necessary to hold it Napoleon noted that m war, the moral force outweights the material force in the ratio of three to one Indeed, it is an axiom of war that it is not the caliber of the rifle but the caliber of the heart which carries it which wins QftQiyw & current president has made the retention ol the Panama Canal and Zone by force militarily impossi The spokesman for the moi al force of the nation is the president Jimmy Carter declared it would take 100,000 U S troops to d fend the Panama Canal against civil uni t st if the treaties aie not signed. Civil unrest is an understated description of guerrilla war Tho American people gave no convincing demonstration of their ability to stand up to guerrilla war in Vietnam. It is doubtful the country would stand up to a guerrilla war in Panama even if it was unified behind a president determined to hold the canal The opposite is more than likely A strong case exists that the greatest thing that ever happened to the residents of the Isthmus of Panama was acquisition of the territory by the United States For, in addition to lifting tne yoke of Colombian government from the Panamanians, the United States also liftpd the curse of disease from its muisnuc swamps This, however, is beside live point If the two treaties were not ratified, it can be assumed that guerrilla war will result The point, therefoi e is that any president would have to marshal the moi al force of the nation m order to hold it Thus, opposition of the to (Kinder Unquestionably, should guerulla warfare break in the Panama Canal and Zone, Cuba and Jamaica would render assistance to the Panamanian guerrillas Since the United States is earnestly courting Havana, it would be both cruel and idiotic to gsk American young imn to die reversing a US policy of general retreat The Senate would do a greater service m guarantee mg th.it the United States will always have the wherewithal to retake the canal and zone-- - not m keeping it now out y A turn By way of illustration, had General George Washington declared at Valley Forge that King George III wus right after all, the snowbound encampment would have been deserted by the next day Hence, not even those who favor holding onto the canal would countenance the drafting of young Americans to be shot at and possibily killed on a mission declared to be morally indefensible by the President of the United States In short, the opixisition of President Carter on Panama has dispelled three tourtns of the nation s ability to hold it Since any effort to do so would not only be abortive but split the country even wider than the war in Vietnam the practical view is to rccognie the obvious that President Carter has compelled the signing of the Panama treaties Another practical reason is that the right to defend the Panama Cana! militarily is academic If a war comes and the occupation of the Panama Canal and Zone is vital to U S security, it will he seized If by that time the United States, hasnt the military power to seize the canal, its fuluie will be too forlorn battles R-I- N -- R-- S Ci comment ble during his term of office - Copyright 1V77 United Feature Syndicate Inc 4 denies plan U.S. to poison gulls : i WASHINGTON (AP) The Interior Department savs that contrary to published reports il has: ii plans to poison seagulls that nest near airports jind s 1 pose a threat to the safety of aircraft William Spalsbury, of the department's Annfrul Damage Control Division said the news repots apparently stemmed from a misinterpietation The Interior Department recently received jibe approval of the Environmental Protection Agencj ti use the poison 1339 to kill two species of gulls Qiat prey on nesting colonies of puffins, terns jinil laughing gulls r The target birds arc the herring gull and greater I black backed gull which must the However, the EPA. ui approve of poisons by federal agencies, did not authorize the Intenor Department to use the poison aroui.o airports, Spalsbury said We do not use this toxnant on gulls at an pot c) he added The Interior Department has helped ampul tr keep down populations of nuixunic buds fof Ji number of years in an attempt to lessen the ihariie fora bud an craft collision Spalsbury said ; 1 ft 4, M4 4 m , . |